Why is Prince George not going to secondary school until after he turns 13?

[MinnieMounjaro]

Prince William reveals Prince George, 12, is already boarding at £10,669-a-term Lambrook School mol.im/a/15846933 via https://dailym.ai/android

I saw this article in the DM saying Prince George is currently boarding at Lambrook "ahead of moving to his secondary school in September". He turns 13 in July so the thought occurred to me - why is he still in primary school? Should he not have started secondary in 2024 when he was 11?

Because prep schools go from 7-13 and you take Common Entrance at 13 to go to the top public schools.

Lots of private preps go up to this age.

Because many private preps in the UK go up until 13. It’s very common for private secondary schools to have an increase in the cohort at Year 9 ( 13+ entry).

Sorry cross posted

Private senior schools often start at 13, prep schools usually go up to 13.

Prep usually finishes age 13, most senior independents have a 13+ intake

Very posh schools don't use the primary and secondary split. As cheezncrackers has said, they go to a prep school until 13 before moving on to a public school. * *

Even in the state system lots of areas are still 3 tier so you don't start high school until 13

Education has always worked in periods of seven years but originally they were 0-7, 7-14 and 14-21. Prep and Public schools retain parts of this but so do middle schools to an extent.

Most private preps are till 13 and then senior school after the CE exams. Some single sex girls schools start at 11 though.
Our senior boarding school has a Junior school for 11-13yrs where they can stay a few nights a week as and when it suits.

My friend lives in an area where they have primary/junior/senior school along the same age groups. Seems to work well.

I didn’t go to ‘high school’ until yr9 due to being in a middle school area, so it’s not just a private school thing (although for George it clearly is!) A few people I’ve met down the years assumed I went to seriously posh schools when it’s come up

Why does it matter?

Poor kid. His childhood is going to be the most private part of his life, after 18 he will be “fair game” for paps and gossip, but still people are poking about looking for things to latch on to.

Also, he lives in Windsor so even if he were state school educated, we have the three tier system here and he would be in middle school moving up to upper school in September.

Prep

I saw a video of Charlotte doing a public meet and greet recently (accompanied by Kate I think). Members of the public were practically shoving each other out of the way to get to her - to shake her hand, press boxes of chocolate on her (which quite obviously will be binned), even just to touch her coat.

Honestly I don't like the RF at all but I felt so sorry for the kids in that moment. Imagine being 10 or 11 and treated like some sort of public commodity in that way - dozens of random strangers fighting to get near you. It'll be a wonder if any of them turn out remotely normal.

Traditionally, private schools took pupils after they had done their Common Entrance exams aged 13. Many private senior schools therefore don't take pupils until the start of Year 9 eg: Eton, Wellington, Winchester, Bradfield etc. Lambrook is a prep school (not a primary school), which means they keep pupils until that point, preparing them for Common Entrance exams.

At least they’ll be comfortable whilst talking to their therapists, @AmberSpy … Not topping up the meter, or applying for fifty jobs per day …

I’m guessing you’re sufficiently informed now, @MinnieMounjaro? (I admit to finding it quite interesting that not everyone knows about the different primary / secondary timetable and terminology at traditional prep and public schools.)

This! For all the teaching our kids they don’t have to do anything against their boundaries so don’t have to kiss and hug goodbye if they don’t want to, it’s just bizarre making the kids do this

He’s in a middle school system.

state schools vary - some have the primary/secondary split, other counties have junior/middle/senior.

in a middle school system it splits 0-7 7-14 14 onwards.

so they move school at year 3 and at year 9

Lots of prep schools also offer ad hoc boarding. In his interview on Heart radio William said George was boarding the night before, so probably just the one night with other ad hoc nights to get him used to boarding or perhaps to fit in with after school activities.

My DD was a chorister at a Cathedral school. She would board the odd night if there was late choir practice or other things going on. She chose to board on Christmas Eve a couple of times to be part of the Christmas fun and traditions that took place, including getting up early to wake the Bishop with singing outside his house. We would go in for the services obviously, then there'd be a huge Christmas lunch for choristers, parents and staff, then Evensong then we'd go home and do stockings and presents and collapse.

No in Windsor we have First, middle and upper. So they move at end if year 4 (age 9) and end of year 8 (age 13).

Presumably you’re joking, @Octavia64?

What a shame he has to board.
With all the excellent private day schools in London, and it's not like he would have to battle on the tube to get to any of them...

My DCs prep school had plenty of kids who actively preferred to weekly or flexi board with their friends, rather than doing the school run back and forth to an empty house or home to a nanny if their parents were travelling or working long hours.