Ministry of Defence Spends Millions on Private Education to Bypass Welsh Education
The MoD allocates approximately £1m each year to place students to private schools in north Wales because "state schools provide some or all lessons in the Welsh language".
The ministry disbursed over one million pounds in day school allowance in the northern region for 83 children of military families in 2024-2025, and £942,000 for 79 children in the previous year under a established practice.
A spokesperson said "service children can experience regular relocations" and the allowance "aims to minimize interruption to their schooling".
The Welsh party described it as a "total misuse of funds" and "an insult to our tongue" while the Conservatives argued families should be able to select the language in which their children are taught.
These numbers were acquired following a inquiry under the public records law.
The online portal of RAF Valley on Anglesey informs its personnel, "if you live and serve in northern Wales, where public schools provide various lessons in the Welsh tongue, you may choose to enroll your kids to an English-language private institution".
"As long as you are accompanied by your household at your duty station, you can utilize this benefit to pay for the expense of tuition fees, educational excursions/residential learning programs and regular commuting."
An MoD spokesperson told, "the purpose of the educational stipend in the northern region (DSA-NW) is to support service families stationed to the area, where the Welsh tongue is the primary medium of public schooling".
"Since relocation is a aspect of service life, military kids can encounter frequent moves and from DSA-NW aims to minimize disruption to their learning."
"The MoD supports the contributions military members, and their relatives make, and from the stipend helps with the expenses of private education given in English."
'Where teaching is bilingual or non-English'
The allowance covers tuition fees up to a limit of twenty-two thousand seven hundred fifty-five pounds annually, £7,585 each semester, and is accessible to people living in the counties of Conwy, the area, the locality, Anglesey or Flintshire and working in these specific locations:
- The military base, Anglesey
- Joint Services Mountain Training Centre, the island
- The joint military mountain unit, the town
- Wales University Officers' Training Corps (the corps), Bangor detachment, the city
The qualifying independent institutions are Treffos school, the village, Anglesey; Rydal Penrhos Prep school in the town; St Gerard's, the city and St David's College, the town.
The relevant joint service publication confirms that "disbursement of the stipend is limited to those areas where instruction in the public system is on a dual-language or non-English basis".
People serving elsewhere in the multiple services of the armed forces - the ground forces, the Royal Navy and the air service - can apply for a educational continuity benefit which contributes towards residential and/or school charges up to a cap, with a minimum parental contribution of ten percent for each eligible child.
Welsh Conservative Senedd member the politician commented "personnel of the UK military move around the country and the world, and the MoD has always tried to ensure that their children have availability to continuity in education".
"Although we fully support Welsh-language teaching across Wales, it's important to recognize there are two official languages in our country, English and the Welsh language, and local councils and education authorities should provide for both."
"Parents should always have the choice to decide the medium in which their children are taught."
Plaid Cymru's learning representative the assembly member said "not only is this a total misuse of money, it is a slight to our language".
"It's hard to imagine any valid reason to be spending such money every year, on preventing youth living in Wales from having the chance to acquire the Welsh tongue."
"Dual-language ability enhances experience and supports the development of young people, but the UK government is obviously unaware to this."
"This money is a clear illustration of the approach of the UK political groups towards Wales and the Welsh language - namely unawareness and disrespect."