Marlborough College for Prince George!

[barefootcook]

A great choice for the whole family. He will do well there.

But would you want it to be your child’s local comp that they choose? I wouldn’t.

What about somewhere like Canford. Ticks a lot of boxes. Reasonably high in the league tables but not an academic hothouse, mixed sex, full
boarding (no weekly) but still time to go home with exeats and the odd other weekend.

Quite local clientele and not pretentious parents. A nice crowd. Campus school which is easy to secure. Close enough to London but countryside experience.

Not to mention a huge security headache and cost if Charlotte has to have her own security detail

I assumed they moved so that George could walk to school! 🤣

I think that the walking around town part of Eton will be much harder to manage that it was for William and Harry - back in the 90s the royal reporters and press pretty much respected the request of the rf to leave them alone at school. But these days foreign paps will swarm and the Daily Fail publishes footage from anyone with an i-phone. Eton would be a security nightmare.

It would surely send a brilliant message to do this. The Royal family should be for the people.

She did recycle them though - most of the frilly baby clothes were previously worn by William in the 80s - there are loads of threads/websites that have identified these.

Just like the lovely Silver Cross pram that she used for the walk from Sandringham House to the church at Charlotte's Christening belonged to Queen Elizabeth and had been used for QEII's own children and the traditional carriage suspension and big wheels are so much more comfortable to push than a buggy (if you have space to store it).

Kate herself has spoken about them wearing more traditional clothes at formal events as a uniform - not what they wear off duty.

But these days the tabloids publish i-phone footage - wouldn't even need a photographer

Is it not the case that the uk press wouldn't print photos of the children at school?

I mean they could be on TikTok but pupils at the school and locals are unlikely to do that.

I’m not boarding school bashing. I believe it works for many people, particularly older teens.

However I’m not convinced by the ‘quality time’ argument. With teens it seemed to me that the most meaningful discussions took place on ordinary days in passing unplanned moments - with boys often on unremarkable car journeys. It was a case of just being about rather than forcing confidences.

But that’s the point that was being made - boarding pupils spend huge amounts of time either at home or being ferried to and from home by their parents. There isn’t any need for ‘forcing confidences’. Honestly, boarding children now have the relationship with their parents that they would also have if they were at day school. Those who were close, remain close. Those who were less attached maintain that relationship. They’re generally at home every two to three weeks - and parents might take them out at the weekend or see them pretty much any evening at some school event or other. (If they choose to.) Not forgetting a thing called FaceTime.

A PP mentioned Radley which is a decent shout I think. It's a more campus site, not too far away, used to having Royal parents (Edward and Sophie) and a broad academic intake. It's also pretty posh.
But I think George will go to Eton, Charlotte to Marlborough, and Louis to either.

Yes she did and nobody but you disputed that.
I actually said she chose to recycle them. She didn't have to.

I had a nap in order to get ready for staying up late tonight and when I woke up I was in Ruritania. This is the best and funniest thread on Mumsnet all year, thanks and praise.

I wonder if they’d think a boarding school might be better because it allows them to have a more similar life to their peers. Eg they can socialise with friends in the evenings without worrying about the security of going to a random friend’s house.

Mine boarded. Eldest loved it. Second moved from single sex to co-ed, which suited them better, then loved boarding. People who think you don’t see your DCs if they board, are on the whole wrong. Events at weekends, sports matches, theatre shows, music recitals. Some blooming weeks I was never out of the place!

So, do they not go away then? WTF?

I’d have hated not chasing them to get up in the morning, have our half awake breakfast together and discussions about their lives over dinner or hearing about their problems sitting on the edge of their bed.

You mention in an awed voice your favoured daughter's aristocratic best friend, best friend's family, and social circle on almost every thread you're on, yet you clearly don't like the royals - how do you square that?

I think weekly boarding at 16 is a good idea to foster independence before leaving home but tbh younger than that and I wonder why people bother having kids at all. I remember reading a defiant post on here from the parent of a 13 year old who only saw them every 3rd weekend. It was really sad.

When the children are on royal duty or for official photos they wear ultra conservative, formal clothes, but the rest of the time they dress as normal kids. I think that is a clever way of helping them understand that there are occasions that they have to be on “best” behaviour and other times when they can be themselves and the special clothes at such times are signifiers to help the children to cope with this. I would be very surprised if their Nanny wears the Norland uniform outside of formal occasions. I believe that The Ps o W are family centred, for example PW has limited his royal work in order to be an involved Dad, and I expect the Princess of W leads this thinking, coming as she does, from a middle class, functioning family. If they think boarding school won’t be in children’s best interests they will avoid it.

Yes, mainly foreign students, it's part of the MO - the full name is United World College Atlantic, it was the first of a number of UW colleges, iirc they limit the number of students from each country in order that none (including the country where each campus is based) is overrepresented - I think there are something like 350 students from 90 different countries.

There's no real equivalent, which is why it is so popular. Although there's overlap between some other big private schools, it's not really like your Eton/Rugby/Marlborough, it's set up with quite a different aim/ethic, and isn't just for rich people, a significant majority of the students are on scholarships.

I believe that The Ps o W are family centred, for example PW has limited his royal work in order to be an involved Dad

He did aye.

I read an item about this tonight and it seemed sure that he was heading to Marlborough. 🙄

Then I googled and it seems it's still unsubstantiated rumour and randomness. 😆

Anyone have a clue when it might be announced? Probably not that much before he starts (wherever it is he's going to).

I have no doubt that being ‘sent away’ to the kind of harsh boarding regimes which used to be commonplace, and at a very young age - sometimes 7 or 8, or even younger - resulted in much emotional and mental stress and trauma for many children, and probably still does, at some establishments and where the children are very young. However, at George’s age - he’ll be 13 when he goes to his next school - children tend to be starting the process of separating from their parents anyway, and spending more of their time with friends. This manifests itself, in many households, in the teenager spending much time away from the rest of the family, often ensconced in their room interacting with their friends on Xbox/phone etc. As a pp suggested, boarding school is probably a healthier environment for many teenagers!