The Ministry of Defence (MoD) spends around £1m a year sending children to private schools in north Wales because “state schools teach some or all lessons in the Welsh language”.
It paid £1,019,000 in day school allowance in north Wales for 83 children of service personnel in 2024-2025, and £942,000 for 79 children in 2023-2024 under a longstanding practice.
A spokesperson said “service children can face frequent moves” and the allowance “aims to minimise disruption to their education”.
Plaid Cymru called it a “complete waste of money” and “an insult to our language” while the Conservatives said parents should be able to choose the language in which their children are taught.
The figures were obtained following a BBC Wales request under the Freedom of Information Act.
The website of RAF Valley on Anglesey tells its workforce, “if you live and serve in north Wales, where state schools teach some or all lessons in the Welsh language, you may choose to send your children to an English-language independent school.
“Provided you are accompanied by your family at your duty station, you can use this allowance to cover the cost of tuition fees, field study trips/residential educational courses and daily transport.”
An MoD spokesperson told the BBC, “the purpose of Day School Allowance in North Wales (DSA-NW) is to assist Service families posted to the region, where Welsh is the primary medium of local state education.
“As mobility is a part of service life, service children can face frequent moves and from DSA-NW aims to minimise disruption to their education.
“The MoD supports the sacrifices Service personnel, and their families make, and from DSA-NW assists with the costs of independent day schooling given in English.”
The allowance covers tuition fees up to a maximum of £22,755 a year, £7,585 per term, and is available to people living in the counties of Conwy, Denbighshire, Gwynedd, Anglesey or Flintshire and serving in one of the following establishments:
The qualifying private schools are Treffos school, Llansadwrn, Anglesey; Rydal Penrhos Prep school in Colwyn Bay; St Gerard’s, Bangor and St David’s College, Llandudno.
The relevant joint service publication confirms that “payment of the allowance is limited to those areas where teaching in the state sector is on a bilingual or non-English basis”.
People serving elsewhere in the three branches of the British Armed Forces – the Army, the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force – can claim a continuity of education allowance which contributes towards boarding and/or tuition fees up to a maximum rate, with a minimum parental contribution of 10% for each eligible child.
Welsh Conservative Senedd member Natasha Asghar said “members of the British Armed Forces move around the country and the world, and the MoD have always tried to ensure that their children have access to consistency in education”.
“While we fully support Welsh-medium education across Wales, it’s important to remember there are two official languages in our country, English and Welsh, and local councils and education authorities should provide for both.
“Parents should always have the option to choose the medium in which their children are taught.”
Plaid Cymru’s education spokesperson Cefin Campbell MS said “not only is this a complete waste of money, it is an insult to our language”.
“I cannot think of any valid reason to be spending such money every year, on preventing young people living in Wales from having the opportunity to learn the Welsh language.
“Bilingualism enriches life and supports the development of young people, but the UK government is clearly blind to this.
“This money is a perfect example of the attitude of the Westminster parties towards Wales and the Welsh language – namely ignorance and insults.”
