Council must support estate’s Welsh school

CELEBRATING the Welsh language, our shared cultural heritage, is something that we should be proud of in Cardiff.

Our capital is brimming with a new-found sense of Welsh identity, which continues to thrive year on year.

More and more of our children are now having the opportunity to learn their national language, instilling an enormous sense of pride in a new generation of Welsh-speakers in our city.

Welsh-medium education has made many gains in Cardiff, but none in recent years, without having to fight for it. The struggle to establish Ysgol Hamadryad in Butetown is a case in point.

Ysgol Nant Caerau, the only Welsh-medium school serving the community of Caerau, is bursting at the seams. Opened as a fledgling school in 2007, it now has more than 220 pupils on roll. In 10 years the growth has been phenomenal. There is an undeniable appetite from parents for the Welsh language and all the benefits associated with bilingualism. Demand for Welshmedium primary school places is outstripping current local supply.

For far too long the children of Nant Caerau have had “to make do”. A makeshift library in the corridor. A serious lack of space to play outside. An admission lottery, where for the past five or six years an increasing number of children have been turned away from the school.

Ely and Caerau deserve better than this.

Cardiff council must adopt a “cando” approach and find an equitable solution as a matter of urgency. This needs to include prioritising investment within the next phase of Welsh Government capital funding. Cardiff Council must do its bit; our journey towards a million speakers by 2050 depends on it. Ceri McEvoy Cardiff RhAG (Parents for Welsh Medium Education) Caerdydd