Prince William and Kate Middleton have reportedly ditched their plans to enrol Prince George in either of their alma mater schools and want him to attend a co-educational secondary school who promise to produce ‘decent, ambitious’ and climate conscious pupils when he comes of age.
Sending a child off to 'big school' is a huge milestone in both the child's and the parent's life. How is it possible that they've already reached this late stage of their childhood? But aside from the emotional troubles that may arise when the time comes around to send them off, there's also the more practical element of deciding which school they should actually attend.
This is something Prince William and Kate Middleton have been massively struggling with. It had long been thought that 10-year-old Prince George would follow in his father's footsteps and attend the prestigious boarding school Eton College, whose entry exams he's reportedly taking this year. But those reports were largely shut down when sources revealed that Kate would prefer to keep George at home while he's still so young.
It was then speculated that George and his younger siblings, Princess Charlotte, eight, and Prince Louis, five, would all attend the co-educational boarding school that their mother once attended, Marlborough College, in order to keep them all together even if they were away from their parents.
However, according to reports in the Daily Mail, there is now a third school in the mix and it's quickly become the couple's frontrunner choice for it's modern approach to schooling and its climate-conscious values.
Oundle School, a £34,000-a-year co-educational school in north Northamptonshire, whose fees are significantly lower than those of the UK's most expensive private schools, has drawn the attention of the royals with its promise to produce pupils who are 'decent, ambitious... but never arrogant,' and are also 'Climate Champ-ions.'
They explain on their website, "We have a responsibility to ensure that every single member of the school community takes both individual and collective action towards environmental sustainability.
"We encourage aspiration and abhor arrogance, nurturing open minds, authentic self-belief and a sense of service," they add.
Finding Oundle School is a relief for the couple who have been struggling to make up their minds on where best to send their children. According to a source, there are worries within The Firm that Marlborough College has become 'too flashy' a school for the Prince who sits second in the royal line of succession, something that has happened largely because of Kate's previous association with it.
"The 2024 version of Marlborough may be quite different from how Kate remembers it," a source told the Daily Mail. "It's become a little more jet-set. Lots of parents have villas in Ibiza, chalets in Verbier or a private jet, which isn't Kate's style. She prefers understated wealth.
"Kate wants a school that suits all of her children and keeps them grounded," adds the source, something that Oundle promises to offer.
In other royal news, King Charles’ cancer diagnosis ‘will be a lot to deal with’ for Prince George as he faces an early introduction to royal life - but Prince William and Kate Middleton know how to look out for his wellbeing, and, did you notice this brilliant parenting trick hidden in Princess Eugenie’s birthday message for her son August, as well as, Prince William and Kate Middleton kick off half-term week with Prince George, Charlotte and Louis and it’s set to be a family-orientated break filled with fun.
