The London Welsh School ( cy, Ysgol Gymraeg Llundain) is a Welsh medium primary school in London, England.

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...

is the language predominantly used for all classes and activities. The school offers a bilingual education to children aged four to 11. The school also has a pre-school class for three and four-year-old children, and a baby and toddler group called that meets on Friday mornings.

History

The London Welsh School's origins date back to Saturday morning Welsh language classes taught at the

London Welsh Centre The London Welsh Centre ( cy, Canolfan Cymry Llundain) (founded as the Young Wales Association in 1920) is a community and arts centre on Gray's Inn Road, in the London Borough of Camden. The centre is owned and run by the London Welsh Trust. T ...

in 1955. The school was then founded in 1958 by a group of fathers who were sending their children to those language classes. For much of its history the school was the only Welsh medium institution located outside

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

until the opening of a Welsh language school in

Patagonia Patagonia () refers to a geographical region that encompasses the southern end of South America, governed by Argentina and Chile. The region comprises the southern section of the Andes Mountains with lakes, fjords, temperate rainforests, and g ...

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

. That institution, the , was opened on 6 March 2006 in to serve the Welsh-Argentine community. In 2000 the London Welsh School was forced to leave its home since 1961, the Welsh Chapel in

Willesden Green Willesden () is an area of northwest London, situated 5 miles (8 km) northwest of Charing Cross. It is historically a parish in the county of Middlesex that was incorporated as the Municipal Borough of Willesden in 1933, and has formed p ...

, but then relocated to Stonebridge Park primary school in Brent. Speaking in the

Houses of Parliament The Palace of Westminster serves as the meeting place for both the House of Commons and the House of Lords, the two houses of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Informally known as the Houses of Parliament, the Palace lies on the north ban ...

in June 2000, Julie Morgan MP for Cardiff North described the school as part of the general demand for Welsh language education in Wales and a lifeline for families moving temporarily to London In 2015 the school moved to its current home Hanwell Community Centre in

Hanwell Hanwell () is a town in the London Borough of Ealing, in the historic County of Middlesex, England. It is about 1.5 miles west of Ealing Broadway and had a population of 28,768 as of 2011. It is the westernmost location of the London post t ...

London borough of Ealing The London Borough of Ealing () is a London borough in West London. It comprises seven major towns: Acton (W3), Ealing (W5, W13, NW10), Greenford (UB6), Hanwell (W7), Northolt (UB5), Perivale (UB6) and Southall (UB1, UB2). With a population ...

, a building with a long history as an educational setting having been home to a school attended by Charlie Chaplin between 1896 and 1898.

Recent Years

The London Welsh School has, for many years, been invited to the

to take part in the

St. David's Day Saint David's Day ( cy, Dydd Gŵyl Dewi Sant or ; ), or the Feast of Saint David, is the feast day of Saint David, the patron saint of Wales, and falls on 1 March, the date of Saint David's death in 589 AD. The feast has been regularly celebrat ...

service where the children typically perform in front of the

Speaker of the House of Commons Speaker of the House of Commons is a political leadership position found in countries that have a House of Commons, where the membership of the body elects a speaker to lead its proceedings. Systems that have such a position include: * Speaker of ...

. A number of well-known Welsh figures have sent their children to the London Welsh School over the years, including

Cerys Matthews Cerys Matthews (; born 11 April 1969) is a Welsh singer, songwriter, author, and broadcaster. She was a founding member of Welsh rock band Catatonia and a leading figure in the " Cool Cymru" movement of the late 1990s. Matthews programmes an ...

Sean Fletcher {{Infobox person , name = Sean Fletcher , image = , caption = , birth_date = {{birth date and age, 1974, 4, 20, df=y , birth_place = New York, New York, U.S. , death_date = , death_place = ...

, and

Sioned Wiliam Sioned Wiliam (born 1962) is a Welsh comedy producer and executive. A former controller of comedy for ITV, she became the commissioning editor of comedy for BBC Radio 4 and Radio 4 Extra in March 2015 and served in the post for seven years.Jake ...

. In 2019, the London Welsh School were winners of the at the

Urdd National Eisteddfod The Urdd National Eisteddfod ( cy, Eisteddfod Genedlaethol Urdd Gobaith Cymru or ''Eisteddfod Genedlaethol yr Urdd'') is an annual Welsh-language youth festival of literature, music and performing arts organised by Urdd Gobaith Cymru. Arguably Eur ...

in Cardiff Bay. The school has been eminently successful and is one of the few places that highlights Welsh identity in London.

References

{{authority control Educational institutions established in 1955 Private co-educational schools in London Private schools in the London Borough of Ealing Welsh diaspora in Europe Welsh-language schools 1955 establishments in England