Today, which is the day that students receive their results for the first semester, the students themselves will be awarding degrees to Aberystwyth and Bangor Universities.

Bethan Griffiths, President of Aberystwyth’s Union of Welsh Students, said:“If the Universities assess us, it’s only fair that we assess their Welsh language provision! We hope to show that the Universities have certain strengths regarding Welsh medium teaching, traditionally History for example, but that the Universities still get poor marks, and in some cases fail completely with other subjects, especially sciences. Students are not awarded degrees unless they score well in every module; in the same way, we expect the Universities to provide Welsh medium education in a wide range of subjects, not just in a few.”Aberystwyth students have awarded a 2:1 degree to the Drama and History departments for their Welsh provision. The following subjects have been awarded a 2:2 by the students: International Politics and Geography. But the following subjects have been awarded a third by the students: Information Studies and Science departments.In the same way, Bangor students have awarded a 2:1 degree to the Music department as an example of a department who boast well established Welsh medium provision; a 2.2 has been awarded to the The School of the Environment & Natural Resources as an example of a department who has some Welsh provision but have some way to go and a third degree has been awarded to the School of Ocean Sciences as an example of a department who is very week in providing Welsh provision at the moment.The students believe that it’s significant that no departments have been awarded a first with regard to their Welsh language provision. Bethan Williams, President of Bangor’s Union of Welsh Students, said:“We support the current developments with regard to increasing Welsh medium education in Bangor and Aberystwyth, however we believe that the Universities still have a great deal of work left to do before we as students can award a first class degree to any department for their Welsh medium provision. As students, we believe that we won’t see significant steps being taken with regard to Welsh medium education until the Welsh Federal College, which has been promised by the Coalition Government, is established.The students don’t believe that Cardiff University is even ready to sit the exam, as their Welsh medium provision is practically non-existent. The students believe that the Government must increase their budget from £4.3 million over three years for the development of Welsh medium education, to at least £15 million if they are to fulfil their promise of an effective Welsh Federal College.Welsh Federal College - Implementation Strategy, November 2007 (pdf - 452kb)