Million-pound plans to improve Welsh language education in Gwynedd have been unveiled by the council.

The plans would see the council establish a Welsh language immersion centre in Tywyn as well as one in Bangor and improve resources in Porthmadog, at a cost of £1.1 million.

The council spokesperson said: “the developments would be built on the solid foundations that are already in place and would offer learners a state-of-the-art immersion education system, developing their Welsh language skills to enable them to succeed and thrive in our schools and becoming proficient bilingual speakers.”

A report on the new immersion education system will be presented to the Education and Economy Scrutiny Committee on 10 June 2021 before being considered by Gwynedd Council’s Cabinet for a decision.

If the plans are approved, £1.1m of Welsh Government Welsh-medium education capital grant will be used to ensure a first class learning environment, and state-of-the-art facilities for new entrants. The intention is for the new system and facilities to be in place by September 2022.

Cllr Cemlyn Rees Williams, Gwynedd Council’s Cabinet member for education, said: “Our intention is to build on this excellent work in developing a modern immersion system that will prioritise the needs of learners and ensure that the system is suitable for years to come.

“We will recommend investing over £1m in modern facilities located in Bangor and Tywyn, which are two areas that are key to the vision of ensuring that we strengthen the position of the Welsh language throughout the county."

As part of the changes it is intended to relocate the Dolgellau Language Centre to a larger site in order to offer the provision to more children, and the Dolgellau, Llangybi and Maesincla sites will provide immersion education for Years 2 to 4 of the primary schools.

In the new system, a language centre would not continue at Ysgol Cefn Coch, Penrhyndeudraeth and newcomers in that area would be allocated to immersion education system sites at Tywyn, Dolgellau, Eifionydd or Llangybi, based on the site closest to the learners.

The new-look immersion system would promote the achievement and wellbeing of Gwynedd’s newcomers to acquire the Welsh language.

It would also support learners who need an extra boost to increase their confidence and skills in Welsh at school and extend the immersion provision to more learners.