The new schools set up in the area were regularly visited by Inspectors who came to check up on them. Their reports can tell us a lot about attitudes to the Welsh language at the time.

The extract below is from a report on Darowen school which shows a very patronising attitude.

This extract, from 4th July, 1884, reads:
"The Arithmetic is excellent, and after making some allowance for the Welsh character of the children, I think the Reading and Spelling are successfully taught, but the handwriting needs a good deal of improvement."

Darowen School was one of the more remote schools in the area, but the Inspectors always found that the pupils were hard working with excellent attendance figures and good results when they were tested.
This shows that the children had the support of families who were keen to see them do well at school.

More about the Welsh language in local schools...