London_Welsh_School

London Welsh School

London Welsh School

Independent school in London, England

This article is about the Welsh medium primary school opened in 1958. For the Welsh Charity School founded in 1716, see St David's School, Middlesex.

The London Welsh School (Welsh: Ysgol Gymraeg Llundain) is a Welsh medium primary school in London, England. Welsh is the language predominantly used for all classes and activities. The school offers a bilingual education to children aged four to 11. The school also has a pre-school class for three and four-year-old children, and a baby and toddler group called Miri Mawr that meets on Friday mornings.[1]

Quick Facts Ysgol Gymraeg Llundain, Address ...

History

The London Welsh School's origins date back to Saturday morning Welsh language classes taught at the London Welsh Centre in 1955.[2] The school was then founded in 1958 by a group of fathers who were sending their children to those language classes.[3]

For much of its history the school was the only Welsh medium institution located outside Wales until the opening of a Welsh language school in Patagonia, Argentina. That institution, the Ysgol yr Hendre, was opened on 6 March 2006 in Trelew to serve the Welsh-Argentine community.[4]

In 2000 the London Welsh School was forced to leave its home since 1961, the Welsh Chapel in Willesden Green, but then relocated to Stonebridge Park primary school in Brent.[5] Speaking in the Houses of Parliament in June 2000, Julie Morgan, MP for Cardiff North, described the school as part of the general demand for Welsh language education in Wales and a lifeline for families moving temporarily to London.[6]

In 2015 the school moved to its current home Hanwell Community Centre in Hanwell, London borough of Ealing,[7] a building with a long history as an educational setting having been home to a school attended by Charlie Chaplin between 1896 and 1898.[8]

Recent Years

The London Welsh School has, for many years, been invited to the Houses of Parliament to take part in the St. David's Day service[9] where the children typically perform in front of the Speaker of the House of Commons.[10][11]

A number of well-known Welsh figures have sent their children to the London Welsh School over the years, including Cerys Matthews,[12] Sean Fletcher,[13] and Sioned Wiliam.[14]

In 2019, the London Welsh School were winners of the Cân Actol Blwyddyn 6 ac iau at the Urdd National Eisteddfod in Cardiff Bay.[15]

The school has been eminently successful and is one of the few places that highlights Welsh identity in London.[16]

References

  1. [1]
    London Welsh School. "Baby and Toddler Group". Ysgol Gymraeg Llundain.
  2. [2]
    Delaney, Elinor Talfan (August 2019). A history of Welsh medium education in London 1958-2019. Ysgol Gymraeg Llundain. p. 8.
  3. [3]
    "History - Ysgol Gymraeg Llundain". London Welsh School.
  4. [4]
    "The history of the Welsh language in Patagonia". Glaniad. National Library of Wales. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015.
  5. [5]
    BBC. "Move secures the future of London Welsh School". BBC News.
  6. [6]
    Hansard. "House of Commons Hansard Debates for 20 June 2000". Hansard. Archived from the original on 18 September 2001.
  7. [7]
    BBC. "Move secures the future of London Welsh School". BBC News.
  8. [8]
    Indyrs. "Charlie Chaplin and the Hanwell Community Centre". Independent R's.
  9. [9]
    Delaney, Elinor Talfan (August 2019). A history of Welsh medium education in London 1958-2019. Ysgol Gymraeg Llundain. p. 67.
  10. [10]
    Brent & Kilburn Times. "The London Welsh School in Stonebridge takes part in St David's Day celebrations". Brent & Kilburn Times.
  11. [11]
    BBC News. "St David's Day Celebrations Continue at Westminster". BBC.
  12. [12]
    BBC. "Singer's London Welsh School Show". BBC News.
  13. [13]
    Walesonline. "Bore da Sean! The first black, Welsh-speaking presenter makes breakfast TV debut". Walesonline.
  14. [14]
    Ysgol Gymraeg Llundain. "Macsen's Story". London Welsh School.
  15. [15]
    Eisteddfod yr Urdd Caerdydd a'r Fro. "S4C". YouTube.
  16. [16]
    Jones, Emrys (2001). The Welsh in London, 1500–2000. Honourable Society of Cymmrodorion Writers of Wales. Cardiff: University of Wales Press. p. 156. ISBN 978-0-7083-1697-9. Retrieved 5 February 2011.

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