THE HERALD FRIDAY JANUARY 20 2017 Like us on Facebook


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3 News plan opens divisions in the council


to see which direction we shall go in challenging the decision.” Jacqueline Seward, who has been


very vocal in her opposition to the change to Welsh-medium education, said: “A very disappointing result considering so many councillors aired so many concerns. We, the Keep Dual Stream, have spent the last year researching and engaging with the residents of Llangennech. “We emphasised through this whole


Alun Lenny: 'Labour's attitude caused dismay'


language with education was further developed by Cllr Antony Jones, who offered the suggestion that while we could all support the Welsh Government’s aims to develop the Welsh language, there were other ways of doing it than through moving schools along the language continuum in the teeth of strong local objections.


CLLR HIGGINS DEFENDS THE POLICY


Cllr Calum Higgins defended the


council’s policy on Welsh-medium education and refused, on a point of principle, to reject the consequences of a report and a policy to which he had contributed. Speaking in English for the benefit of those without translation equipment, Cllr Higgins told the meeting that there was an issue of provision and its location. Pupils from his own village of Tycroes had to travel – at their own parents’ expense – to receive a Welsh- medium education in either Saron or Ysgol Gymraeg Rhydaman, whereas students from further afield were dropped off at Tycroes School as their parents headed to work in Swansea or elsewhere. While he steadfastly supported


the proposal for Llangennech, he drew attention to the failure to engage parents at an early stage as being responsible for the number of questions raised in the Chamber about it. He told his fellow councillors that if the questions worried them, or the sometimes harsh criticism caused them concern, it was a good thing. The council should learn from the missteps made during the consultation on Llangennech.


THE CASE FOR BILINGUALISM


The issue of what parents feared


would happen if and when Llangennech changed to a Welsh-medium school was developed by a number of speakers in favour of the proposal. Cllr Alun Lenny pointed out that


there had been concerns in the past when Welsh-medium education had been introduced, but that these fears had been confounded. He pointed out that the benefits of being bilingual were considerable and were retained into later life to the benefit of the individual. Cllr Eirwyn Williams defended


the work of the Education Scrutiny Committee in the teeth of criticism by parents and other councillors. His Committee, he said, had listened carefully to the information presented to them by those from Llangennech who objected to the scheme. He pointed out that the


'As long as people speak Welsh, nothing matters': Claimed Michaela Beddows


policy Welsh Education Strategy was county-wide and that the Committee had responses from a number of interested parties as a matter of course. People, he said, were entitled to their views whether they agreed with the protesters or not. He spelled out that the policy was to


encourage bilingualism beyond primary school age, so that students could express a preference whether to continue to learn in either Welsh or English (or both). England and Wales, he observed, were unusual in that most countries taught languages from an early age to encourage bilingualism, with advantageous results for the country. Llangennech councillor Gwyneth


Thomas said that regardless of what had been said by those suggesting she was not representing the interests of her electors, she had listened carefully to their objections and had taken into account what they had said. However, she had been persuaded that the case to move Llangennech to Welsh-medium education had been made and that the interests of Llangennech’s children would be best- served by the proposal being passed. Cllr Linda Evans defended the


proposal in the speech concluding the debate: fear, she suggested, and particularly fear of change, lay at the heart of the protesters’ objections to the proposal. The council had to act more proactively to allay those fears and resolve confusion in the future. However, she was satisfied the case was made out to move Llangennech to Welsh-medium education.


LIGHT RELIEF There was a moment of humour


during the recorded vote as CEO Mark James suggested he felt like the RSM in Zulu, remarking during the recorded vote when he did not hear one councillor’s response: “Jenkins, I know you’re alive, I saw you earlier.” After the strain of the debate, councillors were grateful for the humour. Cllr Giles Morgan’s amendment


(seconded by Cllr Sharen Davies) failed by 37-21; the proposal was passed 38-20.


OPPOSITION DISAPPOINTMENT Following the debate, Gary Jones,


the Labour candidate for Llangennech in May’s council elections, told The Herald: “I am disappointed with the result. We knew we had to sway the Independents, which did not happen, but it came as no surprise. “We will continue to challenge the


council; there are still many questions unanswered. We shall be meeting soon


process we are not against the Welsh language but feel dual-stream schools across every school would be a fairer system to enable communities to stay together. “We have heard plans of other schools


are already underway. We will continue to fight and raise awareness in other schools to prevent the lack of community engagement happening again.” Michaela Beddows, who has


appeared often in the media as the focal point for opposition to the proposal, said: “As a group and a community, we are really unhappy. “A lot of councillors were against the


change and felt that due to the amount of questions that still remained unanswered, the decision should have been postponed.” Continuing to voice views that


suggested promotion of the Welsh language was part of a wider conspiracy against the people, Michaela Beddows said: “Democracy no longer seems to exist in Carmarthenshire. The decision made today has been made by people with a very small vision for Wales; the attitude seems to be so long as people can speak Welsh then nothing else matters - grades in exams don’t matter anymore as long as you can speak in Welsh.”


VOTE WELCOMED David Williams, Vice-Chair of


Cymdeithas yr Iaith in Carmarthenshire, said: “We are grateful that Carmarthen County Council have led the way and are beginning to ensure that no child is deprived of Welsh-medium education. “We call now for the council to move,


without delay, to ensure that all children develop the skill to work in Welsh and English. We look forward to seeing plans


Ysgol Llangennech: Change of language category approved


for other schools in the county. “Welsh-medium education is the


only way to ensure that children leave school fluent in both Welsh and English. Carmarthenshire County Council is therefore leading the way for the rest of Wales.” Cllr Alun Lenny told us: “The


meeting was a strange, lop-sided affair. The anti-Welsh-medium lobby were given a platform to air their views by placing questions to council. They were well prepared and obviously felt very strongly indeed. However, the silent majority from Llangennech were not heard. Almost 700 of them supported the council’s proposal, which was an incredible amount, given that Statutory Notices usually attract objections only. “I had a strange feeling of deja-vu. “In that same council chamber 25


years ago, a similarly vociferous anti- Welsh language education group called Education First challenged Dyfed’s schools language policy. Their fears about ‘forcing Welsh down children’s throats’ proved groundless as children from non-Welsh-speaking homes grew up to be bilingual and totally at ease in either language. Many are now stalwarts of Welsh culture in their communities today. It may be a vain hope, but such historic experience might give confidence to some in Llangennech who are anxious about the outcome of Welsh-medium education.


“What caused me most dismay was


the attitude of the Labour Group on the County Council and some individuals who profess to be friends of the Welsh language. With the honourable exception of Cllr Calum Higgins and two others, they not only voted against the Labour Welsh Government strategy on Welsh Medium Education, but against the county’s own Welsh in Education Plan, approved in 2014 when the council was Labour-led! “Such a blatant about-face was truly


jaw-dropping. It’s no wonder that the Labour Party faces meltdown.” Mid and West AM Simon Thomas


commented: “I welcome the decision as it strengthens the provision for Welsh- medium education. If we are to reach the ambitious target of the Welsh Government to increase the number of Welsh speakers to one million by 2050, we will have to take these type of decisions. “I’ve raised the importance of a


balanced approach with the First Minister last year and urged people to respond to the consultation by Carmarthenshire County Council. The one million target is, of course, the Labour Government’s policy. “I hope that everyone will work


together now the decision has been made. “Educational standards in both


languages are paramount moving forward.”


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