Young people

Great strides have been made in recent years in making available opportunities for children to be educated through the medium of Gaelic.

Gaelic medium education (GME)  is one of the main ways of achieving or maintaining fluency in Gaelic. This is especially true of children from a non-Gaelic speaking background. Gaelic medium education is open to everyone, those who speak Gaelic and those who do not

Recent research by Edinburgh University has shown many benefits of GME, including :

• children educated through Gaelic are on par with, or outperform, children educated in one language.
• bilinguals can access different literatures and more ways of thinking and acting.
• Gaelic bilinguals have a better understanding of their place in wider Scottish culture identity.
• being bilingual offers many career opportunities.
• children exposed to different languages at an early age tend to be more focussed than monolinguals at’multitasking’.
• they are generally better readers, and find it easier to learn other languages.

In our local area, nursery and primary education through the medium of Gaelic is available at :
Whinhill Primary School,  Drumfrochar Road, Greenock, PA15 4EQ.
GME is also available in the Glasgow area at nursery, primary and secondary levels.

Check out the web-sites of Bòrd na Gàidhlig and Comann nam Pàrant for more information.

College and University

For school-leavers and mature students, there are many opportunities to begin learning Gaelic or to improve existing skills. Many universities in Scotland offer degree courses incorporating Gaelic or Celtic Studies, and Sabhal Mòr Ostaig, the Gaelic college in Skye (which is part of the University of the Highlands and Islands) offers a wide range of short-term, vocational and degree courses.
Locally, Stow College in Glasgow has a well-deserved reputation for Gaelic teaching, leading to an SQA qualification at a variety of levels.

Check out the web-sites for more information.

Adult Learning

There are many classes run in the local area at a variety of levels, mostly organised by the local authorities and often free of charge, Check out the LOCAL CLASSES page.

Similar classes are available throughout the country – see the Learndirect web-site to find out what is available in the location you require.