Welsh-medium Qualifications
Qualifications Wales is committed to promoting and facilitating the use of Cymraeg.
Over recent years, there has been significant growth in Welsh-medium provision.
Introduction
Wales is a bilingual nation with a strong ambition to increase the use of Cymraeg (the Welsh language).
To support this, and to ensure that learners in Wales can take qualifications in the language of their choice, we are committed to increasing the range and availability of Welsh-medium qualifications.
Choice for All
With the growth of Welsh-medium education, the number of children and young people able to speak Welsh is projected to grow to 70% by 2050.
Our Choice for All strategy clearly sets out our commitment to the Welsh language and our aim to increase the availability of Welsh-medium qualifications.
It also emphasises our intention to work with awarding bodies and other partners in order to contribute towards Welsh Government’s Cymraeg 2050 priorities.
Choice for All sets out four strategic areas of focus:
- prioritising qualifications to be made available in Welsh in full-time education, post-16 settings and apprenticeships
- strengthening support for awarding bodies and their capacity to deliver Welsh-medium qualifications
- revising our Welsh Language Support grant to focus on priority areas, new qualifications and innovative applications
- improving information and date for learners, schools and colleges, and for our regulatory purposes
Regulatory requirements
Condition D9 of our Standard Conditions of Recognition outlines our Conditions and requirements on recognised awarding bodies regarding Welsh-medium qualifications.
In particular:
- an awarding body must make Approved qualifications available in Welsh
- an awarding body must make Designated qualifications available to pre-16 learners available in Welsh, in accordance with our Designation Policy, from September 2027 (or any date specified by us)
- all awarding bodies are required to publish a policy statement setting out the extent to which they make qualifications available in Welsh
- where an awarding body makes qualifications available in Welsh, it must promote the availability of, and facilitate access to those qualifications
To support compliance with these regulatory requirements, we have published Guidance for awarding bodies on Condition D9: Welsh-medium qualifications.
Cynnig Cymraeg - Active Offer
As part of our work to strengthen support for awarding bodies and improve the information available to learners, schools, and colleges on the availability of Welsh-medium qualifications, we have produced an interactive resource pack to support all awarding bodies to provide y Cynnig Cymraeg - the Active Offer in a proactive way.
The pack encourages awarding bodies to provide specific information to learners about Welsh-medium and bilingual qualifications, and to actively promote and advertise Welsh-medium or bilingual qualifications to learners in Wales.
Publicly funded Welsh-medium qualifications
Awarding bodies have been working with us to confirm the following:
- qualifications they offer through the medium of Welsh
- qualifications that are available through the medium of Welsh that are ending and, where relevant, the qualifications that will replace them
- new qualifications that are in development and will soon be made available for learners through the medium of Welsh
We have been in contact with many awarding bodies that offer publicly funded qualifications through the medium of Welsh.
If you have not been contacted by us or if you wish to update the information provided by your organisation, please get in touch.
Welsh language grants
We offer grants to awarding bodies to help maintain and increase the availability of Welsh-medium and bilingual provision.
Awarding bodies can apply to us for financial support to help with the cost of meeting the demand for qualifications assessed through the medium of Welsh.
We also provide a grant to WJEC to support the translation of live assessment papers for GCSEs and A levels.
Support and advisory groups
We have an Awarding Body Welsh Language Support Group where we discuss issues relating to Welsh-medium and bilingual qualifications and assessment with awarding bodies.
If you are interested in joining, please contact welshsupportgroup@qualifications.wales
Awarding bodies sometimes find it difficult to recruit assessment personnel who can work through the medium of Welsh.
If you’re interested in becoming a Welsh-medium assessor or external moderator/verifier, please contact the relevant awarding body or contact us on the email above to discuss.