A recent news item raised concerns that Welsh children are not being taught enough about their own history in school.
My own husband, born and raised in West Wales, only remembers being taught English history, and some Welsh folklore. Like mine in England, his history lessons were dull and boring, but much has improved since, with teachers using all sorts of ways to make the subject interesting. But only 10-15% of the GCSE History syllabus has content about Wales.
Dr Elin Jones wants a much greater emphasis on Welsh history and said there is “very little evidence” of it being taught well in schools. Even more damning was that Dr Jones produced a report for the Welsh Government two years ago which said the same thing, and nothing has been done.
At the time, the Education Minister Leighton Andrews, who commissioned the study, said:
“The Cwricwlwm Cymreig helps learners to understand and celebrate the distinctive quality of living and learning in Wales in the twenty-first century, to identify their own sense of ‘Welshness’ and to feel a heightened sense of belonging to their local community and country.
“The time is now right to look again at the place of Welsh history within the history curriculum, at how the story of Wales can be developed in schools, and at the future of Cwricwlwm Cymreig within this changing landscape.”
Obviously just another politician trying to cover his back and look good, while actually doing nothing about it. Now the issue has been raised again, I wonder if it will make any difference at all?
The aim of my books is make history fun and accessible to the layman, and their popularity, along with requests from local groups to give talks, shows just how much interest there is in Welsh history.
So, in the interests of helping people to learn about Welsh history, I’m going to be using this slot to tell some more of the stories found in our Welsh heritage. Watch this space! And of course, you could buy my books!