A sharp decline in the study of the Welsh language at A-level and university has been blamed on the old-fashioned books and poems on the GCSE curriculum.
According to an investigation conducted by the BBC, universities have seen the number of students taking Welsh courses halve over the past decade. In 2011, 19 students began an undergraduate Welsh course at Bangor University, which has dropped to an intake of only 10 students in 2021. Similarly, Cardiff University saw its numbers decline from 50 to 30, and Aberystwyth recorded a decline from 48 to 23 over the same period.
A major issue seems to be the fact that universities are losing the attention of potential students even before they begin to decide on an undergraduate course. In 2008, 304 sixth-formers were studying A-level Welsh, but in 2020 this had fallen to just 231 – and over the same period of time, the number of students taking Welsh as a second language at A-level saw an even more dramatic drop from 489 to 195.
‘It’s a worrying picture’
Head of Swansea University’s Welsh department, Gwynedd Parry, told the BBC that the course would normally attract about 20 students per year but that number has fallen recently. He said; ‘Of course, it varies from year to year but generally speaking, we’re talking about halving.
‘It’s a significant drop, so it’s a worrying picture.’
Speaking to the BBC, Tesni Peers, a first-year Welsh student at Bangor University, said: ‘There are a lot of novels now like ‘Llyfr Glas Nebo’ and Tu ôl i’r Awyr, they would be ideal to study because they are modern and they are challenging at the same time.
‘Un Nos Ola Leuad was fab and I don’t regret reading that at all and I enjoyed some of the poems [from the GCSE curriculum], but there were others I thought ‘this is boring’.
Peers added; ‘Only a handful of women are included, when there are a large number of other poems that should be studied at school.’
‘You have to have graduates in Welsh’
Parry agreed that the GCSE curriculum could do with revamping, but also alluded to government messaging encouraging students to take up STEM degrees; ‘There are messages that to some extent push young people to study science subjects.
‘There are messages that motivate them to study across the border.’
Parry emphasised the Welsh government’s aim to have one million Welsh speakers by 2050; ‘If you are serious about that, you have to have graduates in Welsh to feed the teaching profession, the translation profession and many other sectors within our society.’
A spokesperson for the Welsh government told the BBC: ‘Welsh skills are vital to the workforce of the future, especially in areas such as teaching.’
The Welsh Joint Education Committee (WJEC) exam board told the BBC that it is planning to make changes to the GCSE course: ‘WJEC designs and delivers qualifications and assessments in accordance with Qualifications Wales’ requirements, and as an awarding organisation, we do not promote any one subject over another,’ said a spokesperson.
‘To support Wales’ new curriculum, Qualifications Wales has recently launched its ‘Qualified for the Future’ initiative, which includes a new generation of GCSEs, including Welsh Language qualifications, that will be taught from September 2025.’