There seems to be some dick measuring at the moment as to which school offers the best Welsh medium education: Ysgol Brynhyfryd or Ysgol Glan Clwyd, Llanelwy/St Asaph. The argument centres upon whether Denbighshire should transport students away from the Brynhyfryd catchment to the 'pure' Welsh medium school at Llanelwy.
A letter in today's Free Press is rather deprecating towards Brynhyfryd. It implies the Glan Clwyd offers a "full and comprehensive Welsh medium education", while Brynhyfryd "has some provision".
Some provision? I wonder what the chair of governors and headmistress at make of that. It was the foresight of the late John Ambrose that ensured in the 1980s that Brynhyfryd matured into a bilingual school. Now strengthened by the current headmistress, it offers statutory schooling in the language of parents' choice. Parents may opt for a "full and comprehensive" education in either language. To me, Brynhyfryd's stance seems like the best of both worlds. Unlike parents who chose Glan Clwyd, those in and around Rhuthun/Ruthin don't have to consider between two schools in two separate towns. It's all available on one campus. Time was when pupils in the Brynhyfryd area used to be shipped out to Glan Clwyd or particularly Maes Garmon (Yr Wyddgrug/Mold) for education through the medium of Welsh. Yes, really.
"The School’s bilingual ethos reflects the community it serves"
But the point I wish to make is that, actually, Brynhyfryd offers far more immersion in Welsh than the so-called 'pure' Glan Clwyd. The vast majority of Glan Clwyd's pupils are shipped in from Rhyl, Prestatyn and their surrounds. These are from largely English speaking families who (quite rightly) feel that the Welsh education denied them should not be refused their family. Or they feel that Rhyl High, Prestatyn High and Blessed Edward Jones schools simply aren't up to the mark and Glan Clwyd's the only alternative. Either way, the language of the home and therefore the playground is English.
Compare that to Brynhyfryd. Here, you hear both Welsh and English in the playground, side by side and quite comfortably. The Welsh medium stream will happily and confidently use Welsh at times other than in their classrooms because this is *their* language, the language of their home. There's a critical mass. As Welsh stream pupils walk home after school, it's Welsh you hear. This is a very different ethos to Glan Clwyd. Glan Clwyd pupils are even known to have been teased by others should Welsh be heard on their home streets.
Welsh within the classroom is a feature of both schools but only at Brynhyfryd does Welsh carry on largely at play and after school. Which, then, is the better environment for pupils? Critically for the Welsh language, which is likely to promote and foster a strong Welsh language in the longer term? And as an aside, which is likely to promote tolerance and equality on both sides?
One problem: pupils who have studied totally in Welsh, upon reaching Brynhyfryd's sixth form, can undertake only about four subjects in Welsh. There is no reason why they cannot do some of their A-levels at Ysgol Glan Clwyd, though. The Vale schools plus Llysfasi all co-operate for further education.
A letter in today's Free Press is rather deprecating towards Brynhyfryd. It implies the Glan Clwyd offers a "full and comprehensive Welsh medium education", while Brynhyfryd "has some provision".
Some provision? I wonder what the chair of governors and headmistress at make of that. It was the foresight of the late John Ambrose that ensured in the 1980s that Brynhyfryd matured into a bilingual school. Now strengthened by the current headmistress, it offers statutory schooling in the language of parents' choice. Parents may opt for a "full and comprehensive" education in either language. To me, Brynhyfryd's stance seems like the best of both worlds. Unlike parents who chose Glan Clwyd, those in and around Rhuthun/Ruthin don't have to consider between two schools in two separate towns. It's all available on one campus. Time was when pupils in the Brynhyfryd area used to be shipped out to Glan Clwyd or particularly Maes Garmon (Yr Wyddgrug/Mold) for education through the medium of Welsh. Yes, really.
But the point I wish to make is that, actually, Brynhyfryd offers far more immersion in Welsh than the so-called 'pure' Glan Clwyd. The vast majority of Glan Clwyd's pupils are shipped in from Rhyl, Prestatyn and their surrounds. These are from largely English speaking families who (quite rightly) feel that the Welsh education denied them should not be refused their family. Or they feel that Rhyl High, Prestatyn High and Blessed Edward Jones schools simply aren't up to the mark and Glan Clwyd's the only alternative. Either way, the language of the home and therefore the playground is English.
Compare that to Brynhyfryd. Here, you hear both Welsh and English in the playground, side by side and quite comfortably. The Welsh medium stream will happily and confidently use Welsh at times other than in their classrooms because this is *their* language, the language of their home. There's a critical mass. As Welsh stream pupils walk home after school, it's Welsh you hear. This is a very different ethos to Glan Clwyd. Glan Clwyd pupils are even known to have been teased by others should Welsh be heard on their home streets.
Welsh within the classroom is a feature of both schools but only at Brynhyfryd does Welsh carry on largely at play and after school. Which, then, is the better environment for pupils? Critically for the Welsh language, which is likely to promote and foster a strong Welsh language in the longer term? And as an aside, which is likely to promote tolerance and equality on both sides?
One problem: pupils who have studied totally in Welsh, upon reaching Brynhyfryd's sixth form, can undertake only about four subjects in Welsh. There is no reason why they cannot do some of their A-levels at Ysgol Glan Clwyd, though. The Vale schools plus Llysfasi all co-operate for further education.