Madam,

Whilst we should all applaud the move to encourage regeneration of the Welsh language and the powerful cultural and national identity that it provides, it must be remembered that Wales is officially and legally a bilingual country.

I would take the arguments put forward by O Jean Thomas and ask further how can it be legal to effectively disbar and alienate half of our population and, furthermore, to insist that schoolchildren only speak Welsh in school.

I challenge our MP Liz Saville Roberts and the head of Gwynedd Council, Dyfrig Siencyn, to justify how a primary schoolchild who is a Welsh learner is required to write a project in Welsh and not allowed to use English. Surely this is victimisation of a sort not seen since the infamous days of the ‘Welsh Not’ and just as effective a ‘hate crime’ as racial discrimination itself.

Yours etc,

Peter Barnes, Cader Road, Dolgellau.

Have your say on the local issues affecting you - email [email protected] or join in the conversation on our Facebook page