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Nick Clegg may send oldest son to private school Nick Clegg may send oldest son to private school
(about 1 hour later)
Nick Clegg has suggested he and his wife may educate their oldest son privately when he moves to secondary school this year. Nick Clegg has suggested that he and his wife may send their oldest son to a private school when he moves on to secondary school this year.
Speaking on his weekly call-in show on LBC radio, the deputy prime minister said he and Miriam would make a decision about Antonio's next school in the coming months, as he is due to leave his state primary in Putney this summer. Speaking on his weekly phone-in show on LBC radio on Thursday, the deputy prime minister said he and Miriam had to make a decision about Antonio's next school as he is due to leave his state primary in Putney, south London, this summer.
The Liberal Democrats leader repeatedly said he did not want to discuss his son's education on air but, when pressed by co-presenter Nick Ferrari, he conceded: "If it works out to send them to a good state [secondary] we will do so, but, like all parents who are sending their children to secondary school in London, as you know there is huge competition for places." The Liberal Democrat leader repeatedly said he did not want to discuss his son's education on air but, when pressed by co-presenter Nick Ferrari, he conceded: "If it works out to send them to a good state [secondary] we will do so, but, like all parents who are sending their children to secondary school in London, as you know there is huge competition for places."
Later he went a little further, saying: "It's not about whether it's private or public, in that sense you're right it can be either, I just want the best for my child, and that's exactly what I think most people listening to this programme want for their children as well." Later he went a little further, saying: "It's not about whether it's private or public – in that sense you're right, it can be either. I just want the best for my child, and that's exactly what I think most people listening to this programme want for their children as well."
MPs' decisions not to send their children to local state schools are always controversial, but Clegg's move will be under particular scrutiny because he has in the past talked about the huge social division caused by private education, and he has put social mobility at the heart of his deputy premiership.MPs' decisions not to send their children to local state schools are always controversial, but Clegg's move will be under particular scrutiny because he has in the past talked about the huge social division caused by private education, and he has put social mobility at the heart of his deputy premiership.
In a speech to the Sutton Trust last year, Clegg, who went to the elite Westminster school in London, said: "Right now there is a great rift in our education system between our best schools, most of which are private, and the schools ordinary families rely on. That is corrosive for our society and damaging to our economy."In a speech to the Sutton Trust last year, Clegg, who went to the elite Westminster school in London, said: "Right now there is a great rift in our education system between our best schools, most of which are private, and the schools ordinary families rely on. That is corrosive for our society and damaging to our economy."
Clegg's move was also contrasted to the prime minister's statement this week that he intended to keep his daughter Nancy at her state primary school, though Clegg's two school-age sons also attend state primaries near his London home in Putney, and he suggested on LBC he intended for the youngest of this three sons to also go there in September. Clegg's move was contrasted to the prime minister's statement this week that he intended to keep his daughter Nancy at her state primary school, though Clegg's two school-age sons also attend state primaries near his home and he suggested on LBC that he intended for the youngest of his three sons to go there in September.
The deputy prime minister's comments suggest he is in a similar position to many parents, who will not find out usually until March whether their children got into their first-choice school for the autumn. The deputy prime minister's comments indicate that he is in a similar position to many parents, who will not find out usually until March whether their children got into their first-choice school for the autumn.
In his case, the two state secondary schools in Putney have markedly different reports from the school inspection agency Ofsted: Ashcroft technical academy is rated "outstanding", with 91% of pupils getting five or more GSCEs at grades A* to C, while Elliott school is rated "satisfactory" and has a high number of pupils with special educational needs and who qualify for free school meals, often signs a school has above-average social problems to cope with as part of their pupils' education. In his case, the two state secondary schools in Putney have markedly different reports from Ofsted. Ashcroft technical academy is rated outstanding, with 91% of pupils getting five or more GSCEs at grades A* to C, while Elliott school is rated satisfactory, and has a high number of pupils with special educational needs and who qualify for free school meals, often signs that a school has above average social problems to cope with.
Defending his decision not to be drawn further on his plans, Clegg said: "I'm not and I have never sought to, if you like, impose a decision on my wife as well as my son because of political reasons. Clegg said he had never sought to impose a decision on his wife or son for political reasons. He said: "I'm a father before I'm a politician."
"I'm a father before I'm a politician; I want my child to have the best possible education. I would never ever begrudge any parent whether they send their children to a private or a state school, to do the best for their children – it's the most fundamental instinct anyone has. And by the way, I have that raging through my veins as much as any father who wants the best for his child."