Welsh-medium education

[1] A smaller proportion of people in higher levels of education study partially or fully through the medium of Welsh.

While the country's working class was largely Welsh-speaking at the time, Welsh public opinion wished for children to learn English.

[5][6] The British government never prohibited the use of Welsh at schools but it treated English as the assumed language of instruction.

[13] The Welsh Government's current target is to increase the proportion of each school year group receiving Welsh-medium education to 30% by 2031, and then 40% by 2050.

[14] During a Senedd debate in December 2022, Plaid Cymru suggested Welsh-medium education be made compulsory to all students in Wales as part of the bill.

[17] Na Naíscoileanna Gaelacha (Irish Infant Schools Organisation) was established in 1974 with continued input from Cylchoedd Meithrin.

[18] Alongside Ikastola in the Basque Autonomous Community, the Welsh Meithrin inspired the Diwan movement in Brittany.

[24][25] Studies suggest that parents choose Welsh-medium education as an expression of cultural identity and due to believing it will provide an economic advantage to their children.

[27] There is other evidence that Welsh-medium schools tend to have poorer academic results than their English-medium counterparts and struggle to accommodate children with learning difficulties.

The following chart gives the proportion of middle school students receiving Welsh-medium education each year.

The subjects with the highest number of learning activities with some element of Welsh were Retail and Commercial Enterprise (18.1%); Agriculture, Horticulture and Animal Care (17.7%) and Business, Administration and Law (14.2%).