🔗 Share this article MoD Allocates Large Sums on Independent Education to Bypass Welsh Education The military facility trains British military aviators as well as personnel for alpine and maritime missions The MoD allocates around £1m each year to place students to independent schools in northern Wales because "public schools teach various classes in the Welsh language". It paid £1,019,000 in day school allowance in the northern region for 83 children of service personnel in 2024-2025, and nearly one million pounds for seventy-nine students in 2023-2024 under a longstanding policy. A spokesperson stated "military families' children can experience regular relocations" and the stipend "aims to reduce interruption to their schooling". Plaid Cymru called it a "total misuse of funds" and "a disrespect to our language" while the Conservatives argued families should be able to select the medium in which their children are educated. The Duke of Cambridge served in RAF Valley between 2010 and 2013 The figures were obtained following a inquiry under the public records law. The online portal of the military installation on Anglesey informs its workforce, "if you live and serve in northern Wales, where public schools teach various classes in the Welsh tongue, you may choose to send your kids to an English-medium private institution". "As long as you are accompanied by your family at your duty station, you can use this benefit to pay for the cost of school charges, educational excursions/residential educational courses and daily transport." A defense ministry representative told, "the purpose of the educational stipend in the northern region (the allowance) is to assist service families posted to the area, where Welsh is the primary medium of local state education". "As mobility is a part of service life, military kids can encounter frequent moves and from this allowance seeks to minimize disruption to their learning." "The MoD acknowledges the contributions service personnel, and their families make, and from DSA-NW assists with the expenses of independent day schooling provided in English." 'Where teaching is bilingual or non-English' The allowance covers tuition fees up to a maximum of £22,755 a year, seven thousand five hundred eighty-five pounds per term, and is accessible to personnel living in the counties of Conwy, Denbighshire, Gwynedd, the island or Flintshire and working in these specific locations: The military base, the island Joint Services Mountain Training Centre, Anglesey Joint Services Mountain Training Wing, Llanrwst Wales University Officers' Training Corps (UOTC), Bangor unit, the city The eligible private schools are Treffos institution, the village, the island; Rydal Penrhos Prep school in Colwyn Bay; St Gerard's school, Bangor and St David's institution, Llandudno. The relevant joint service publication confirms that "payment of the allowance is restricted to those regions where teaching in the state sector is on a dual-language or non-English foundation". Personnel stationed elsewhere in the multiple services of the military - the Army, the Royal Navy 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 eligible child. Welsh Conservative Senedd member the politician commented "personnel of the UK military relocate across the nation and the globe, and the ministry have always tried to ensure that their children have availability to consistency in schooling". "Although we strongly endorse Welsh-medium education across Wales, it's crucial to recognize there are dual recognized tongues in our country, the English tongue and Welsh, and municipal authorities and school boards should accommodate each." "Parents should always have the option to decide the medium in which their children are taught." Plaid Cymru's education spokesperson the assembly member said "not just is this a complete waste of money, it is an insult to our tongue". "I cannot think of any justifiable cause to be spending such money every year, on blocking youth residing in Wales from having the opportunity to acquire the Welsh language." "Bilingualism enriches life and supports the development of youth, but the British administration is obviously unaware to this." "These funds is a clear illustration of the attitude of the Westminster parties regarding Wales and the Welsh language - namely unawareness and disrespect."