Sir,

I was born and educated in Tenby and can trace my family roots in Tenby back over several centuries. I am proud to be Welsh foremost and then British.

I have spent most of my adult life abroad and wherever I travelled I did my best to promote Tenby and Wales.

To my embarrassment, even shame, I cannot speak my native tongue, though I have learned other languages.

Therefore, I fully understand and support the campaign to support the Welsh language, but in a pragmatic rather than a blinkered, emotional manner.

My parents were both conversant in Welsh but, when I was born, decided that the language of the home should be English in order that I should be able to get the most from my education.

They realised that there was a world outside Wales where a command of Welsh would have little value.

In this sentiment, they had much in common with parents in any developing country who realise that English is the language of the Developed World - a world that is getting increasingly smaller.

I fear that if children in Wales are educated only in Welsh-medium through to secondary school level, they will be no more than 'foreign students' should they be able to enter university in England, and should they travel, they will find no one can speak Welsh - even in Patagonia.

With the future prosperity of Wales in mind, I would urge that all education be conducted in English, but Welsh language lessons be compulsory in all schools in Wales.

John H. T. Griffiths,

Tenby.