Thursday 30 May 2024

End of the latest stage of my Gaelic journey

Yesterday I sat my Advanced Higher exam in Gaelic for Learners at Marr College in Troon, East Ayrshire, having studied the course through eSgoil (https://e-sgoil.com) over the last year. I was delighted with the two papers, they were definitely within my range, so I left the school feeling on a high!

Today, however, I was disappointed to hear that the University of the Highlands and Islands has substantially hiked the administration fee rates for 2024-2025 for the National 5, Higher, and Advanced Higher courses in Gaelic for Learners, having decided to bring them into line with its other NQ courses. When I sat the Higher last year, it was free, whilst the admin fee for the Advanced Higher this year was just £75. As of 2024-2025, the fee for all courses is jumping substantially to £355.

ESgoil offers a great option for adult learners, and I will absolutely continue to recommend it to anyone wishing to progress beyond Duolingo or other courses to gain an actual National Qualification from the SQA. The hike in rates will put some off, but I can only suggest that the quality of the courses, and the method of their delivery, will still make it worth it. The deadline for registration for 2024-2025 is June 3rd at 5pm - the registration form is available at https://forms.office.com/e/L4s7q0fx0R.

It's just not great news in the wake of the positive figures recently showing a massive upsurge of 20% in just over 10 years of people being able to speak the language. 

Next up for me is a short week long course on Skye in July, my exam results at the start of August, and then my Cert HE course in Gaelic Immersion at Glasgow University from September. 

Cleachd i no caill it...!

Chris

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