‘Such doubts’: Will Welsh language education ever be the right choice in Monmouthshire?

Stephen Price

Seven years ago, during my sister’s pregnancy – the most joyous, restorative and wonderful thing to have happened to our family tree that seems to lose another branch with every strong wind – I joked that I wouldn’t want any contact should her now six year old son not attend a Welsh medium school.

We were on the same page, and my thoughts had no sway, it was for her and her partner to decide. But like me, she is fiercely proud of Wales, Welsh Culture and the Welsh language. It was the only choice.

Having both learned ‘ail iath’, me to degree level and her at night school and on apps for the sheer joy and ‘claiming back’, it felt like a ‘no brainer’ to equip him with skills we were denied, and (to quote a friend whose kids were initially expected to go to a local Welsh school more ‘cwtchy’, community-focused, more.. well.. Welsh).

The thrill of his first day, his first spoken words in Welsh, his artistic creations and the end of term ‘pencampwriaeth’. It all just felt so right.

Until cracks began to show in not only the school’s reputation (the friend, and others changed their minds for one reason or another after initial steps for some, initial years for others…), new transportation insults and, perhaps most damning of all – dithering and delay over what happens next with regards to high school provision in a county with no Welsh medium high school, in keeping with the other Heads of the Valleys counties of Blaenau Gwent and Merthyr.

‘A Freak Year’

Reflecting village after village across Wales, my nephew and the children from Clydach and Llanelly Hill would once have been able to walk to their own schools, but dwindling numbers meant that closure was inevitable, and the community’s nearest school in Gilwern, a few miles down the road, would be where future children from the village would have naturally headed to if seeking an English medium school.

However, in 2024, a ‘freak spike in births’ was blamed for 17 families – from Clydach, Govilon, Llanelly Hill and other surrounding villages, missing out on being able to head to said school.

A total of 47 applications were made for just 30 places in the reception class at Gilwern Primary School for that year – disappointing 17 families including some with children already at the school and those whose children attended the nursery on the same site.

More than 400 people went on to sign a petition, launched by “Hopeful Gilwern Parents” to allow an extra class at the school to accommodate the demand.

Tomos Davies, the Conservative councillor for the nearby villages of Llanfoist and Govilon, asked, at Monmouthshire County Council’s May meeting, how the authority intends to support those parents.

Labour’s Martyn Groucutt, the cabinet member for education, said alternative places, including those identified as other preferences by parents on application forms, have been offered by the county council.

But the Labour councillor said an additional class at Gilwern has been ruled out: “We have been asked to consider admitting all 47 and while I understand the request we must be mindful of accommodating and associated staffing of the current school which is for 210 pupils in class sizes of 30 in each year group.”

Cllr Davies said 17 families have been “left in limbo” at a “deeply distressing and concerning time” and could have to wait until July for the council’s “lengthy and cumbersome” appeals process to conclude.

Cllr Groucutt said: “We do have accurate figures from the health board and they do show this is a freak year in Gilwern and looking forward, the future data we have is to 2027, this is the only year with such a spike.”

At the meeting Cllr Groucutt also stated that four children, with siblings already at the school, but from outside the catchment area weren’t offered places in line with the admissions policy consulted on, and agreed, in 2019 when the Conservatives controlled the council.

Cllr Groucutt also said the last time a Labour government had followed the Conservatives in power, in 1997, new prime minister Tony Blair had been under “tremendous pressure” to limit class sizes to 30, and said “that’s something we’ve stuck to as educationally well worth while rather than overcrowding and affecting the quality of teaching.”

And what has this resulted in? A rise in numbers travelling further – often to the Welsh school in Abergavenny as a second choice – and others being homeschooled.

A mess for both English and Welsh-medium children alike.

As for the ‘freak spike in births’, if the councillors were actually truly part of any local communities they will have seen that it was not some wartime-like act of locals bonking a little more for King and country, but actually a Covid-era freak spike in inward migration and escape to the country (but not too far in, heaven forbid).

With house building afoot across Monmouthshire (it’s on the borders, it’s great for that Bristol commute and overspill), we can expect more ‘freak’ years of birth in the future – and what do us NIMBYs know when we’re complaining that things are buckling as they are already – that traffic is up, our rivers have had enough of our excrement, our schools and doctors have a tipping point?

Nid ar y bws

I mention Gilwern in the Welsh language setting primarily because, for many who are dissatisfied with the Welsh language provision it’s now, as you can see, too late to backtrack. It’s also a pivotal reason why many are now in the Welsh-medium school. It’s now a case of get on the waiting list but don’t expect anything to happen, homeschool or give up work and become a taxi service to ferry your child even further afield.

For those who have chosen and stayed with Welsh schooling, however, there was at least the assurance and convenience of a bus.

That was, of course, until this September when the omnishambles of a plot thickened.

Mere weeks ago, when planning ahead for the new term, my sister discovered that the bus – which my nephew is now happy to catch before and after school each morning and afternoon – is set to provide a new and unforeseen challenge as of this September.

Rather than remain with the same company that has been providing exemplary service, running from Llanelly Hill down to Clydach and beyond each morning, Monmouthshire County Council (not, it must be noted, the school) has has appointed a new provider is set to take to the wheel from here on in. Cost cutting? Bureaucracy? Both?

It’s taken repeated calls for any sense to be made, but we’ve now discovered that the route is set to change with the following repercussions:

• A 1 hour and 10 minute journey for children from Llanelly Hill to Ysgol Gymraeg Y Fenni
• A new pickup spot which is a ten minute walk for my six-year-old nephew – and further for others – with no parking provision.

This will mean my sister needs wrap-around care for him, possibly breakfast club for him, she’ll be late for work or have to rethink where and how she works.

All because someone in an office made an ill-thought-out change with no knowledge or care for the fallout.

And no other parents from Clydach and Llanelly Hill were made aware until days ago.

And while it seems there is no statutory maximum time limit specified in Wales’ devolved teaching guidelines or the Learner Travel (Wales) Measure 2008 for a child’s school travel journey to school, England is much clearer. This has been adopted by Wales, but as stated by the member of Monmouthshire County Council, there’s a get-out-of-jail-free card if you want to study in Wales’ native language. Discrimination? I’ll let you decide.

A document titled Travel to school for children of compulsory school age – Statutory guidance for local authorities states: “As a general guide, the maximum journey time for a child of primary school age should be 45 minutes each way, and 75 minutes each way for a child of secondary school age, including any time taken to walk to a pick-up point, but there will be circumstances in which this is not possible, for example in rural areas where children live in remote locations, where a child needs to travel a long way to the school named in their EHC plan, or when journey times are extended by traffic delays. Wherever possible, a child should not be expected to make several changes on public transport.”

In Wales, the learner’s age, disability or learning difficulty will be considered when arranging their transport. Has this been considered in the case of Llanelly Hill? They’d say it has.

And let me state, with regard to the remote locations get-out-clause – this wasn’t an issue before the bus contract changed hands. It’s an overlooked problem that wasn’t there before. The quickly-found excuse of the new buses being more environmentally friendly is completely negated by the longer routes and journey times the new bus has to take. Or has the council compared the CO2 uses side by side and therefore knows better than us?

“Find a climate crisis excuse – they can’t argue with that!”

But who cares! It’s not a worry for our councillors who are ever-increasingly only connected to the areas in which they live in no other way than having sought the good life in Wales to show us inept Welshies how it’s done – a pattern so clearly evident in many of our English white saviour-led local authorities, arts institutions, charities (often environmental or humanitarian) and the like. Clueless in the most basic understandings of Wales and the Welsh but boy can they preach.

The bus company’s line to my sister – “We haven’t assessed the route yet” – despite winning the new contract speaks volumes. But the council now say they had before winning the tender.

Disgraceful and dishonest, and I’m calling it out.

The buck stops… nowhere!

So.. for those parents that have gone against the tide and chosen a Welsh-medium primary school; managed to get their children to the school miles away by themselves or on the bus, and then opted for a Welsh secondary school education to follow on (as many, many don’t due, for the most part, to the excessive travel time out of county), what’s the next obstacle they face?

Only said out-of-county high school expecting to be at full capacity in two years time.

Our councillors are well aware of this, and their meetings reflect their awareness, but the buck stops nowhere and the wages keep going up, why bother pulling your finger out.

Can you imagine you or me having a task on our desks for years and just being able to simply talk about it now and then, but effectively ignore it and not get it done? Weeks even? I’d be ashamed of myself!

I’d work on. I’d call crisis meetings. I’d admit I’m possibly in the wrong job. But no, not a problem if you’re a councillor.

In 2024, Nation Cymru reported on Gwent’s newest Welsh medium school in Monmouth, which had been delayed by a year when just three pupils had registered shot into double digits.

Cllr Garratt asked if a Welsh medium secondary could be established and Conservative member for Devauden, Rachel Buckler, said there is concern Ysgol Gwynllyw, in Pontypool, will reach capacity and would no longer be able to accept pupils from Monmouthshire.

Mr McLean said discussions are taking place with Blaenau Gwent, Torfaen and Powys to understand demand “along the heads of the valleys corridor” but councillors were also told as growth in Monmouthshire is in reception years the council has “seven to eight years” to plan for secondary provision.

Pupils currently transfer to Gwynllyw and Gwent Is Coed, in Newport, and the education director cast doubt on the prospect of Monmouthshire establishing a comprehensive on it its own.

He said: “I would have some concerns whether it is viable for a single Welsh medium secondary in Monmouthshire. It would have a small cohort, it would likely be four form entry that’s not very big, and we are looking at how we collaborate with other local authorities to ensure children enjoy the richness of a wide and varied curriculum.”

So, two years on, we’re at five to six years off needing to worry for the children of Monmouth – but what of the children of Brynmawr, Blaina and Nantyglo at Ysgol Gymraeg Bro Helyg and the children of Ysgol Gymraeg y Fenni?

Unless I’m reading out-of-date information, we have 2 years.

And unless councillors start having to act like you or I might in our jobs, I don’t think there’s a hope in hell they’re going to get anything together by then without direct intervention from the Welsh Government.

Failed petition

This year, I thought I’d not only grab the bull by the horns, but get a nice cheap ‘n easy news item made in the process.

I made myself a Senedd petition.

The petition was titled: Establish a Welsh medium secondary school for Blaenau Gwent, Merthyr Tydfil and Monmouthshire.

The petition read: “There is currently no Welsh medium high school in the entirety of Monmouthshire, Blaenau Gwent and Merthyr Tydfil, with children currently traveling upwards of an hour to Pontypool or other sites or simply ditching Welsh medium education altogether.

“With Gwynllyw not expected to accept students from outside their catchment from 2028, time is critical for a site to be built to serve these three counties.

“If Wales is to have any chance of becoming a bilingual nation, it starts at school.

“The vast majority of Welsh language teachers get their grounding in Welsh medium schools too.

“The children of these three counties are paying the price for political indifference and are already leaving primary school to go King Henry and Crickhowell etc.

“This is a national disgrace, and needs urgent attention. Families of children in Welsh medium primaries need assurance that there will be provision for them soon. Those considering a Welsh primary are no doubt thinking it’s a pointless endeavour.

“Wales is losing entire generations of Welsh speakers from these areas who then go on to English medium schools – whether because of distance, reputation or uncertainty.

“Language loss can be almost immediate for many of these children who then become immersed in English medium schools and social groups.

“The dithering and delay must end now. These counties need a Welsh medium high school now.”

As I shared the link to get the petition up and running with my partner and sister, I assumed it would be good to go in the next few days and I’d gleefully watch as other news outlets ran with it.

In the words of my dad, however, “You know what thought did!”

My response from a week or so later read thus: “Thank you for submitting a petition to the Senedd.

“Before we can publish a petition on our website and it can begin to collect signatures, we need to ensure that it meets the petition rules.

“Unfortunately, we are not able to accept your proposed petition “Establish a Welsh medium secondary school for Blaenau Gwent, Merthyr Tydfil and Monmouthshire”.

“It’s about something that the Senedd or Welsh Government is not responsible for.

“Schools organisation is an operational matter for local authorities. Petitions to the Senedd cannot concern an issue that is the operational responsibility of a local authority and, therefore, we are not able to accept a petition on this issue.

“Petitions which ask the Senedd to intervene in the operational decisions or actions of local authorities are not admissible.

“You could consider contacting your local council or your local representatives about this matter instead.

“We’re sorry that we’re not able to take your petition forward on this occasion.

“Thanks,

“The Petitions team

“Senedd”

So what did Stevie do next? Two months ago, he emailed two Plaid Senedd members and one has yet to reply, but we’ll hold out some hope there – it’s early days.

He also emailed councillors representing Abergavenny and the small village where his nephew lives.

Without pointing fingers, and just to give a taste, one response reads: “I completely understand your concerns. Ensuring that young people can continue their Welsh-medium education is important, and I wanted to take a little time to understand where we currently are in progressing our ambitions for Welsh-medium secondary provision.

“The Council recently considered this issue as part of our Welsh in Education Strategic Plan. Encouragingly, enrolment in Welsh-medium primary education continues to grow, which reinforces the need to secure future secondary provision for Welsh learners.

“We are currently in discussions with Blaenau Gwent about future Welsh-medium secondary education, and our Cabinet Member for Young People has also raised the issue directly with the new Welsh Government Minister for Education and the Welsh Language. In that correspondence, particular emphasis was placed on the challenges families face in accessing Welsh-medium secondary education and the importance of transport and long-term provision.

“While I know this does not provide the certainty that families are looking for, I hope it reassures you that the issue is live and remains very much on the agenda. There are significant challenges, and any long-term solution will require support and investment from Welsh Government, but the case for improving provision continues to be made. We will not let it drop.”

Time is running out – again, we’ll just have to watch from the sidelines.

Belonging

As for whether my sister and her partner, have finally settled on a conclusion as to whether Welsh medium schooling was the best decision for him – a school further away from his local peers in a, frankly, not-so-nice part of town which many parents choose because it’s on the doorstep not because it’s Welsh language – a school which too many friends and strangers alike have ultimately decided it’s not for them for one reason or another…

It’s a small world where we live, it’s a small world in Wales even – and we’ve been privy to a few-too-many ‘we took our child out that school’ conversations where mum or grandma knew not to go too far, but far enough, to hint at their experiences at the school.

They have hope, sure. With children involved, you’ve got to keep that.

But personally, I’m exhausted, and sometimes giving in is the only option in the face of bureaucracy, unaccountability and indifference.

And to quote Meryl Streep’s devastating final lines as Doubt’s Sister Aloysius:

“I have doubts. I have such doubts.”

After witnessing debacle and delay in even Ysgol Gymraeg’s local school move (a stone’s throw up the road), let alone build, in five years time, it’s looking increasingly likely that he’ll join those who would have been his classmates and playmates in the nearby English medium primary school at an English medium high school.

An outsider who, in every decision, his parents only ever wanted and needed for him to belong. For an ‘only child’ without cousins even to be happy and to thrive, and to have a community around him that cares for him like we do.

Just another child whose parents initially thought they were doing the right thing, but lost their language skills overnight.

While no skin off the noses of councillors grown fat on handsome wages and our ever-increasing council taxes who neither empathise nor face consequence – it’s just another email or a meeting and a number on a spreadsheet for them. Their heads won’t even hang in shame, let alone roll.

The ones paying the price for this utter travesty and ongoing uncertainty are our precious and fragile young children whose futures are completely under our care.

A huge loss for Wales, Welsh culture and the Welsh language.

A national disgrace.

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