HC Deb 25 April 1988 vol 132 cc16-7W
Mr. Win Griffiths

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many secondary schools in Wales teach Welsh as a second language; how many pupils are involved in each year group; and what percentage this is for each year group.

Mr. Wyn Roberts

In September 1987, 196 secondary schools in Wales taught Welsh as a second language. The information by year group is as follows:

Year group Number of pupils Percentage of year group
I 22,496 69.4
II 21,277 63.0
III 17,362 49.1
IV 6,844 18.2
V 6,996 17.7
VI 640 3.0
Total 75,615 37.8

Mr. Win Griffiths

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many primary schools in Wales teach, wholly or partly in Welsh(a) two subjects, (b) three subjects, (c) four subjects, (d) five subjects and (e) more than five subjects.

Mr. Wyn Roberts

The information is not collected centrally.

Mr. Win Griffiths

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many secondary schools in Wales teach wholly or partly in Welsh(a) two subjects, (b) three subjects, (c) four subjects, (d) five subjects and (e) more than five subjects.

Mr. Wyn Roberts

The information relating to September 1987 is as follows:

Number of subjects Number of schools
2 —
3 7
4 1
5 2
More than 5 40

Mr. Win Griffiths

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many primary schools in Wales teach Welsh to all pupils either as the language of the home or a second language, giving the number and percentage of pupils in each case.

Mr. Wyn Roberts

The information is not collected centrally in the form requested. However, in September 1987, 1,018 primary schools taught Welsh to all pupils either as a second language or as a medium of instruction. These schools represented 122,140 pupils, about 47.5 per cent. of the total primary school population.

Mr. Win Griffiths

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many students are currently in training to teach(a) through the medium of Welsh at junior level, (b) through the medium of Welsh at secondary level, (c) Welsh as a second language in junior schools and (d) Welsh as a second language in secondary schools; and how many he estimates will be required to meet the needs of implementing the national curriculum's requirements in Wales.

Mr. Wyn Roberts

In 1986 there were 213 students in Wales training to teach through the medium of Welsh at primary level and about 38 at secondary level. No information is held about the number of students training to teach Welsh as a second language, but in 1986, 53 students in training were pursuing Welsh as a main subject in bachelor of education courses and 16 were pursuing postgraduate training to teach Welsh in secondary schools. It is too early to make precise estimates of the number of teachers that will be required to meet the needs of implementing the national curriculum. Local education authorities will be expected to plan on the basis of incremental implementation of the national curriculum over a number of years within the framework of the present planned resources.