🔗 Share this article

The Ministry of Defence spends approximately £1m annually to send students to private schools in northern Wales because "state schools provide various classes in the Welsh language".

It paid £1,019,000 in day school allowance in north Wales for 83 children of service personnel in the current academic year, and £942,000 for seventy-nine students in the previous year under a established policy.

An official representative said "service children can experience regular relocations" and the allowance "aims to reduce disruption to their education".

The Welsh party called it a "total misuse of money" and "an insult to our tongue" while the Tory party said parents should be able to select the language in which their kids are taught.

The figures were obtained following a inquiry under the public records law.

The website of the military installation on Anglesey informs its personnel, "for those residing and working in north Wales, where state schools provide some or all classes in the Welsh tongue, you can opt to send your kids to an English-medium independent school".

"Provided you are joined by your household at your posting, you can use this benefit to cover the expense of tuition fees, educational excursions/residential educational courses and regular commuting."

An MoD spokesperson explained, "the aim of Day School Allowance in North Wales (DSA-NW) is to assist military households posted to the area, where Welsh is the primary medium of local state education".

"As mobility is a aspect of service life, service children can encounter regular transfers and the this allowance seeks to lessen disruption to their learning."

"The ministry supports the sacrifices military members, and their families make, and from the stipend helps with the costs of private education given in English."

'Where teaching is bilingual or non-English'

The benefit includes school costs up to a limit of £22,755 annually, seven thousand five hundred eighty-five pounds per term, and is accessible to people residing in the regions of Conwy, Denbighshire, Gwynedd, the island or the district and serving in one of the following establishments:

• The military base, the island
• The combined forces alpine training facility, the island
• The joint military mountain unit, Llanrwst
• The university military training program (UOTC), Bangor unit, Caernarfon

The qualifying private schools are Treffos institution, the village, the island; Rydal Penrhos preparatory institution in Colwyn Bay; St Gerard's, the city and St David's institution, Llandudno.

The relevant military policy document states that "disbursement of the stipend is limited to those areas where teaching in the public system is on a dual-language or non-English basis".

Personnel stationed in other locations in the three branches of the military - the ground forces, the naval service and the Royal Air Force - can apply for 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 qualifying student.

Tory Senedd member Natasha Asghar commented "personnel of the British armed forces relocate across the country and the world, and the ministry has always sought to guarantee that their children have availability to consistency in schooling".

"While we fully support Welsh-language teaching across the country, it's important to remember there are two official languages in our country, the English tongue and Welsh, and local councils and education authorities should provide for each."

"Families should always have the choice to select the medium in which their kids are taught."

Plaid Cymru's education spokesperson Cefin Campbell MS said "not only is this a total misuse of money, it is an insult to our language".

"I cannot think of any valid reason to be spending these funds annually, on blocking youth living in the country from having the opportunity to acquire the Welsh tongue."

"Bilingualism enhances life and supports the development of youth, but the UK government is obviously blind to this."

"This money is a clear illustration of the attitude of the Westminster parties regarding Wales and the Welsh language - namely ignorance and insults."