The latest census from the Independent Schools Council (ISC) shows that the number of Forces children attending independent boarding schools has dropped from 1,790 in 2011 to 851 this year.
The decline coincides with changes three years ago to the Ministry of Defence’s Continuity of Education Allowance (CEA), which pays for continuous schooling for the children of military personnel who are stationed overseas.
The review led to fewer young people being eligible for financial support, and a growing expectation that parents would choose state boarding schools for their children. The MoD planned to save £20 million a year on the CEA.
Hilary Moriarty, national director of the Boarding Schools Association (BSA), said the declining numbers of Forces children in independent boarding schools was “particularly worrying”. She added: “This is surely due to the major changes in the granting of the Ministry of Defence’s CEA. In 2011, there were 1790 new Forces children at independent boarding schools, in 2012 there were 992, and this year, there are 851. This a dramatic drop over three years.”
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