Part of 2. Questions to the Minister for Education and Welsh Language – in the Senedd at 2:25 pm on 18 May 2022.
Thank you, Minister. In his speech in the Senedd to mark the tenth anniversary of the coleg, Dr Ioan Matthews, the chief executive, referred to the large number of Welsh speakers studying in universities across Wales who still don't make that choice to study part of their degree through the medium of Welsh. It's clear that there's still a challenge in terms of encouraging students to study their subjects through the medium of Welsh, and according to the coleg this is particularly true when it comes to scientific subjects. It appears that one of the main reasons is that the sciences aren't taught through the medium of Welsh in every Welsh-medium school. According to lecturers, once a pupil has changed their language of study to English, it's difficult to convince them to study through the medium of Welsh at university, which, of course, creates a vicious circle in terms of teachers who qualify in the sciences who are able to teach through the medium of Welsh. Does the Minister agree that we need intervention to increase the provision through the medium of Welsh at A-level if we are to increase the number of students who go on to study the sciences through the medium of Welsh at university, and then who are going to train as teachers in secondary schools in the sciences? Will the Minister commit to undertake a survey to find out what the situation is within our Welsh-medium schools in terms of provision in the sciences? Thank you.