25-10-07
October 25th is an historic day for the town of Abergavenni as Ysgol Gymraeg y Fenni's new building is official opened by the Education Secretary, Jane Hutt.
Children and staff of the school have had to move back and forward between two sites for years until September when the school was relocated to its brand new site on St David's Street - what a great address for a Welsh medium school!
As well as a new building, a new headteacher, Mrs Anne Bellis, has taken up her post. A former pupil of Ysgol Gyfun Ystalyfera, Mrs Bellis was an English teacher at Ysgol Gyfun Gwynllyw before coming to Abergavenny and she has clearly not had a moment to miss her old job as she has been so busy over the summer making sure that everything was ready for the children and teachers in the new term.
Said Mrs Bellis, "It's very important that the children and teachers now have the school site they deserve. We have fantastic facilities and the reception class is already filling up quickly! This shows that parents respond to the state of the buildings, though it goes without saying that the children of Ysgol Gymraeg y Fenni have received an education of the highest standard from the beginning. We want to maintain and develop the family atmosphere that has always been part of Ysgol y Fenni's history and become a truly community-based Welsh medium school."
There is a Mudiad Ysgolion Meithrin nursery group at the school site which will feed directly into the reception class with children eventually continuing to Ysgol Gyfun Gwynllyw for their secondary education.
This area of Wales has not been well known in the past for the growth in Welsh medium education, but over the last one or two years we have seen the Education Authority regularly consulting with parents. There have been a number of promising steps with local links being established between state schols, child development organisations and community groups. It looks as though there is a growing appetite among residents of Monmouthshire for the opportunity of educating their children to be bilingual citizens. This shows an education authority's attitude to Welsh medium education can have a big effect on parents. If it is positive and all-embracing, parents are far more likely to accept Welsh medium education as a viable choice, even in the most anglicised communities.
We very much look forward to the results of the consultation on relocating Ysgol y Ffin in the south of Montmouthshire which will enable the school to almost treble its size. It is hoped the school will relocate to Caldicot in September 2008 creating space for nearly three times as many people in Welsh medium education in the south of the county.
ends
d
