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Families in the Armed Forces can Benefit from Academy Boarding Places
Dated: 10/09/2008
Families in the Armed Forces can Benefit from Academy Boarding Places
Ed Balls, Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families has announced two new Academies will target boarding places at local Armed Forces families.
Families at RAF Waddington will be able to apply for boarding places at the new Priory Academy LSST in Lincoln, while Army families stationed near Salisbury Plain will be able to apply for boarding at the Wellington Academy.
Boarding places are an important resource for families in the armed forces - who often travel around and otherwise might not be able to provide a settled education for their children. Boarding provides continuity of education where the alternative might be frequent changes of home and, therefore, school. It also means children can establish a longer term friendship group.
The school admissions code states that, after children in care, children with a boarding need should be prioritised for state boarding school places. This category includes children of members of British service personnel.
Ed Balls said:
"We owe a huge debt to our armed forces who serve at home and overseas - their job often involves a great deal of travel which can be hard for their children. These two new Academies offering boarding places to military personnel will be hugely beneficial for these children, helping them to settle at one school and giving them much needed stability. Wellington Academy is already fortunate enough to have Prince Andrew as President and I'm sure it will be a beacon of excellence."
Andrew Adonis said:
"We are keen to provide more state boarding places for the children of service personnel, whose job often involves a lot of travel. These places mean children can settle at one school and receive a continuous education - which can have real benefits.
"These two boarding Academy proposals are a radical new departure for the Academies programme, and I hope we will see more of it before long."
Two new Academies will have boarding provision targeted specifically at military families, Andrew Adonis said.
From 2011, the Priory Academy LSST in Lincoln will have boarding places for 60 students aged 16 and over, which will help serve families at the local RAF base at Waddington - the largest military base in the country - many of whom are often out of the country as part of their service.
The Wellington Academy, sponsored by the famous Wellington College and with Prince Andrew as president, will also have around 100 boarding places many of which are expected to be taken by children of forces families, stationed at nearby Salisbury Plain. The Academy will start taking boarders sometime after the new school buildings open in 2010.
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