century (Lewis, 2006, 2008a, 2008b; Welsh Assembly Government, 2010).
Statistics published by the Welsh Assembly Government showed that, in
January 2009, 99.8% of pupils in maintained primary schools (age 4–11)
were taught Welsh as either a first or second language. Similarly, in main-
tained secondary schools, 99.1% of pupils in years 7 to 11 (age 11–16)
were taught Welsh as either a first or second language (Welsh Assembly
Government, 2009a).
However, one of the challenges to bilingual education in Wales is the
lack of continuity and progression from one sector to the next. Diminishing
provision and take-up at the older age, and the linguistic loss that occurs,
has been a cause of general concern for many years (Welsh Assembly
Government, 2003: 4.13; Welsh Language Board, 2003, 2004: Redknap,
2006; Welsh Assembly Government, 2009b: 42). This is especially apparent
among pupils and students in the post-16 sector progressing from secondary
education to further and higher education, as the opportunities to study
subjects through the medium of Welsh is limited in these sectors.
Consequently, this can create a negative influence on the perceptions and
attitudes of secondary age pupils (Redknap, 2006; Welsh Assembly
Government, 2009b). In this chapter, ‘further education’ refers to education
which goes beyond compulsory education (5–16 years) but which is not at
degree level (referred to as ‘higher education’).
The nature and breadth of Welsh-medium and bilingual education in
Welsh higher education institutions varies greatly from one institution to
another, with provision developing in some institutions partly as a result of
their internal commitment and vision ( Welsh L anguage Board, 20 04: Chapter
15; Welsh Assembly Government, 2009b: p. 1, para. 1.4; Welsh Assembly
Government, 2009c: Tables 1, 2 and 3). Historically, the institutions in north
and west Wales have offered the most comprehensive provision, namely
Aberystwyth and Bangor universities, Trinity College, Carmarthen (now
University of Wales, Trinity Saint David) and Coleg Normal in Bangor
(which, until its integration with Bangor University in 1996, was a teacher
training college founded in 1858 that specialised in Welsh-medium higher
education). The development of Welsh-medium provision in further and
higher education compares unfavourably with the growth seen in the pri-
mary and secondary school sectors (Lewis, 2008b; Welsh Assembly
Government, 2009a, 2010: 2.2, 2.3) and the numbers sitting higher level
examinations through the medium of Welsh in schools: (http://www.wjec.
co.uk/uploads/publications/6754.pdf and http://www.wjec.co.uk/uploads/
publications/6756.pdf. As on 18/01/2011).
The percentage of students receiving Welsh-medium or bilingual provi-
sion in further education in 2007/08 was 3.3%, whereas 3.5% of all higher
education enrolments had at least some element of teaching through the
medium of Welsh and 5.8% of Welsh domiciled students received some teach-
ing through the medium of Welsh (Welsh Language Board, 2009; Welsh
172 Part 4: Bilingual Education