The royal family choosing state schools for their children?

[mids2019]

I was giving this some thought and basically why not?

I think security is a red herring because fundamentally security arrangements must be as easily arranged in a state school as a private school. Additionally privacy is a tenuous argument given that the children are being taught in classes regardless of schooling rype.

I think there is a real opportunity to modernise the royal family at least on this point as there is no specific constitutional arrangement that means the royal family have to be home educated or educated in the private sector; in fact this may be a tradition more honoured in the breach than by its observance. I think there would be an increase in popularity of the family of they are seen to be educated in a similar fashion to the cast majority of the population and therefore gaining a greater connection to the public. It is not as if schools like Eton have a divine right to educate royalty and in fact the royal family have went to a diverse range of elite private schools.

There are some anomalies with this education tradition as when a member of the total family ain't particularly academic then it becomes a challenger where the majority of their peers are (Prime Harry). Of course university in this country is non private but the system of educating the royal family possibly means there are only certain 'acceptable ' universities for the royals..

we don't want to leave the impression that it is only acceptable that the royal family mix with a certain social cohort at the formative schooling period and this doesn't have to be the.case. Did King Charles gain from a private education? From what I have read he was rather miserable at times so private schooling doesn't naturally lead to happiness as well as the fact l that educational qualifications do not influence the royals' future as much as for the common peiople.

With regard to history I think there is a questiin about whether it is good to Somerset for Royals to be resilient to bullying

op what does this sentence mean, please?

I think you'd find a far greater chasm between the kind of state school David Cameron's children went to and a run of the mill private than between the run of the mill private and a good state secondary.

There are state schools and state schools.

People who are privileged enough to live in the right area to send their children to a top class state school shouldn't look down their noses on those who have sacrificed a lot so their children can get a reasonable education at a 'cheap' private school rather than send them to the local secondary school where there is a drug and knife problem.

Like any parents, they will want the best education they can get for their children. It does need to be a school to suit the individual child, but if they want quality learning and proper discipline they will obviously go private. There is no need to play to the gallery and use a state school as some kind of tacky PR stunt.

I think the Royal Family aren't any other very wealthy family and their is definitely public interest in their activity.

For instance there is a traditional and constitutional requirement for the RF to be involved in the armed services and government. The King not simply decide not to do the state opening of Parliament. Therefore there is an interest in where the Royal Family attend school as their upbringing to some extent informs the prevailing culture in the UK

I agree! Although I feel the same about our government ministers…

I'd more concerned that government ministers were well-educated than bothered about which school they went to. I'm depressed by the calibre of some of our current and recent political figures - Matt Hancock being a prime example - just a low-grade person.

I think with politicians it's more important that they prove themselves in a career (not politics!!), from whatever walk of life (law, trade unions, education, medicine, social work etc) before entering politics than which school they went to. I want them to be intelligent and well-educated, able to think creatively and precisely, express themselves clearly and accurately in speech and writing and have the confidence to deal with all kinds of people.

Obama's girls went to a state school when he was first elected. I can't speak for whether that was the case all the way through to university but it was a game changer for Washington DC schools.

A state school could never give the level of security needed for a royal to attend, and definitely not the second, third and fourth in line to the throne.

If they were going to send their kids to state schools, they would have the means to move very close to the very best state schools. The very best state schools are better than the majority of private schools. And, I would say that since you need ££££££ to move into the catchment of the very, very best state schools, that they are actually private by stealth. So all it would be is a publicity stunt.

The private / state debate is all very well. But what is ignored is the state / state debate. One state school can be worlds apart from another state school. There's a place near me that's divided up: those in million pound houses go to the best state primary in the county (as they've bought their way into the catchment) and those in 2 up 2 down type houses go to a shitty state primary on the other side of the place near where they live. We could abolish private schools and we would still have a massive glaring divide, based on the price of the home you can afford.

You've got to also factor in the fact that these kids are more like stage kids than average Mon-Fri 9-3 school goers. They will have personalised learning that allows for the many occasions that they'll be out of school doing state visits, rehearsing for events, preparing for strange traditions.

Why would they receive more from the state? They can afford to pay for their own education and health care, privately, so they do so.

I thought I'd read somewhere that the Tindalls would be sending their children to a local state primary school.

Charles did not go to Eton. He went to Gordonstoun School. In fact, I think it was the one thing Charles and Diana agreed on, to send their sons to Eton instead.
Of all the things from 'Spare', by Harry (did not read the book, but as stated in the media), was the fact that Harry failed to take advantage of what is considered to be the UK's most prestigious school. In Fact he seemed to relish being bad at History (especially when the teacher said it was his family). OK, so he didn't like History, but did not seem to like much else, either.
I am not sure a normal comprehensive would have been the answer, although there are some fairly prestigious state schools about.
However, if Charles was bullied at Gordonstoun, what makes you think any child in the RF would not be bullied at a state school?
I actually think it more important that the parents instil in their children (at all schools) a work ethic, and this applies not only to 'spares' but to'heirs' as well (no reason why any of the RF won't jump ship), but they need a career or trade to enable them to earn a living, whithout having to trade off their family (by trashing them at every opportunity)

I wouldn't want my children at the same school as someone as high profile as the future heir to the throne.

For a while the school they were attending need an armed guard presence... for a few weeks it was unsettling for them. Then they sort of stopped noticing the guns etc. And that was just on the approach road, not on the school grounds. If a parent forgot their security pass they couldn't get near the school to drop off or pick up. Every school trip was assessed to see if the security risk was low enough (they never wore uniform on these trips for example). They had regular lock down drills and escape drills.

For the lower profile Royal children, it would be less of an issue. But all round, I thinks its probably best if the Wales children are at a carefully picked Private school.

Why would anyone in their position send their kids to a state school when they can have the best education money can buy? I most certainly wouldn't do it!

With regard to history I think there is a questiin about whether it is good to Somerset for Royals to be resilient to bullying

Op you haven’t answered my question as to what this sentence means so I’m making a guess here: Do you mean you think it’s good for children to be bullied? I’m pretty shocked if so.

Er, no they didn't!

No, they have just said they will probably opt for a day school.

Obama's girls went to a state school when he was first elected. I can't speak for whether that was the case all the way through to university but it was a game changer for Washington DC schools.

They went to a private school attached to Chicago University when they lived in Chicago.

When they moved to Washington they went to the same school that Chelsea Clinton had gone to which was private as well. It was a Quaker school. Sitwell Friends. Obama said he chose that school because of the poor quality of the public schools in DC.

Jimmy Carter is the only serving president who sent his child to a state school.

Paul McCartney and Alan Sugar sent their kids to state schools.

A huge number of 'normal' people send their children to private schools - it's not totally elite. But they are often smaller schools, with lower staff:child ratios and therefore easier to manage from a security perspective.

The tindalls aren't publicly funded

I'd imagine the school social life is a factor too. An exclusive private school likely has a network of parents who seriously value discretion and privacy. Imagine sending the future king to a playdate and the family alerting the paps or tiktokking it.

(Disclaimer, not saying that this would happen in a state school, but it absolutely would not be done in an exclusive private).

Definintely not. I went to privat school from age 5 as did my children and my siblings' children and it worked out fine. I don't see why the royals have to go to state schools - they seem to do fine in fee paying schools (or educated at home like the late Queen)

Surely everything they represent means private school is the only option?

Reading with intrigue, but if I could I'd go private.