Ministry of Defence Allocates Large Sums on Private Education to Bypass Welsh Education

The MoD allocates approximately £1m each year to place children to private schools in northern Wales because "public schools teach some or all classes in the Welsh language".

It paid over one million pounds in day school allowance in the northern region for eighty-three students of service personnel in 2024-2025, and nearly one million pounds for seventy-nine students in the previous year under a longstanding practice.

An official representative stated "military families' children can face frequent moves" and the allowance "seeks to reduce disruption to their schooling".

Plaid Cymru described it as a "total misuse of money" and "a disrespect to our tongue" while the Conservatives argued families should be able to select the medium in which their children are taught.

These numbers were acquired following a request under the Freedom of Information Act.

The website of the military installation on Anglesey informs its personnel, "for those residing and working in northern Wales, where public schools provide various lessons in the Welsh tongue, you may choose to enroll your kids to an English-language independent school".

"Provided you are accompanied by your family at your duty station, you can utilize this allowance to cover the cost of school charges, field study trips/residential educational courses and regular commuting."

A defense ministry representative explained, "the aim of the educational stipend in the northern region (the allowance) is to support service families stationed to the region, where Welsh is the main language of public schooling".

"Since relocation is a part of military career, military kids can face regular transfers and the DSA-NW aims to lessen disruption to their education."

"The MoD acknowledges the contributions military members, and their families undertake, and through the stipend helps with the costs of independent day schooling provided in the English language."

'In Areas With Bilingual or Non-English Instruction'

The benefit covers tuition fees up to a limit of £22,755 a year, £7,585 each semester, and is accessible to people living in the counties of the county, Denbighshire, Gwynedd, Anglesey or Flintshire and working in these specific locations:

• RAF Valley, the island
• Joint Services Mountain Training Centre, Anglesey
• Joint Services Mountain Training Wing, Llanrwst
• The university military training program (the corps), Bangor unit, the city

The qualifying independent institutions are Treffos school, Llansadwrn, the island; Rydal Penrhos preparatory institution in Colwyn Bay; St Gerard's school, the city and St David's College, Llandudno.

The relevant military policy document states that "payment of the allowance is limited to those areas where teaching in the state sector is on a bilingual or non-English basis".

Personnel serving in other locations in the three branches of the military - the Army, the naval service and the Royal Air Force - can claim a continuity of education allowance which contributes towards residential and/or school charges up to a maximum rate, with a minimum parental contribution of ten percent for each eligible child.

Welsh Conservative Senedd member Natasha Asghar said "members of the UK military relocate across the nation and the world, and the MoD have always sought to guarantee that their kids have availability to continuity in schooling".

"Although we fully support Welsh-medium education across Wales, it's important to remember there are dual recognized tongues in our country, the English tongue and the Welsh language, and local councils and education authorities should accommodate both."

"Families should always have the choice to decide the language in which their kids are instructed."

Plaid Cymru's learning representative Cefin Campbell MS stated "not only is this a complete waste of money, it is an insult to our tongue".

"I cannot think of any valid reason to be allocating these funds every year, on blocking young people living in the country from having the opportunity to learn the Welsh tongue."

"Dual-language ability enhances experience and aids the growth of young people, but the UK government is obviously unaware to this."

"These funds is a clear illustration of the attitude of the Westminster parties regarding Wales and the native tongue - namely ignorance and disrespect."