Tregaron school praised for its Welsh-medium push
In the market square under Henry Richard’s statue, Tregaron still feels like the first proper town after the source of the Teifi. The language in the shops and on the school yard is Welsh first, and that is now being held up as a model.
Welsh Language Secretary Mark Drakeford visited Ysgol Henry Richard and praised the school’s immersion work for pupils who do not come from Welsh-speaking homes. Teachers on their own language journeys, including staff who learned Welsh as adults, were singled out as proof that the policy lives in classrooms, not just circulars.
Ceredigion already leads much of Wales on this. Five English-medium primaries in the county are due to switch foundation learning to Welsh-medium by September 2027. For Tregaron, Llanddewi Brefi and the farms between, the change is less a novelty than a confirmation of what the square already sounds like.
That culture still has a public stage. Eisteddfod Gadeiriol Tregaron filled Neuadd Goffa over two days last September, with local winners from Tregaron and Llanddewi Brefi and the chair going to Anwen James of Llangeitho. The Women’s Institute and local families still put up the prizes.
Further down the valley the argument is often about housing, water and shops. Up here it is still about whether the next generation will keep the language that named the river. On present form, Tregaron is doing its part.