School fees for military kids cost taxpayer £1.2m

TAXPAYERS shelled out £1.2million last year to send the children of military personnel to top Scottish private schools, it has emerged.

The fees are paid through a MoD initiative called the Continuity of Education Allowance (CEA), which is designed to help children whose parents are moved around a lot maintain their education in boarding schools. Claimants must contribute at least 10 per cent of the fees.

But opponents have called the sums ‘scandalous’ when many Scots are struggling with the cost of living. Ross Greer, education spokesman for the Scottish Greens, said: ‘Many will wonder why such perks are being offered to the military top brass at a time when Tory cuts mean public services and household budgets are being stretched more than ever.

‘It would be totally inappropriate at any time for public money to be poured into paying the extortionate fees of elite private schools which entrench privilege and inequality, but it is even more scandalous when costs are soaring and millions of households are struggling to pay their bills and put food on the table.’

Scotland on Sunday used freedom of information rules to find that Fettes College in Edinburgh was handed £510,000 in 2021-22 and £480,000 for 2022-23 to fund around 20 places. Meanwhile, Gordonstoun in Elgin, Moray, collected £100,000. Merchiston Castle in Edinburgh received £70,000. Glenalmond in Perth was given £60,000, while the Lomond School in Helensburgh, Dunbartonshire, and Belhaven Hill in Dunbar, East Lothian, received £50,000 each.

Across the UK, CEA costs around £84.6million to fund more than 4,000 places.

A MoD spokesman said: ‘Our Armed Forces are asked to move frequently to help keep the UK safe from threat, often at short notice. The education allowance is only claimed within a strict governance framework and is used by personnel of all ranks to give their children stability while they make that commitment.’