Education of Lady Louise and the Earl of Wessex

[Countessmeout]

Do the destination list actually reflect all of the students?? I know they are smaller classes do to private, but 26 people seems tiny for one year. And 2016 there is only 9 students 'destination schools'. Maybe they are that small.


If those really are the full listing of schools, my bet would be on St George Ascot. It was the school Beatrice attended, as did Davina and Rose.

I do wonder if perhaps in a year or two she may switch to boarding school.

[HereditaryPrincess]

The penultimate girl towards the end of the second row in the first photo seems to be Lady Louise to me. I did a bit of poking around on St. Mary’s website as sometimes royal students are included in photos:

http://www.st-marys-ascot.co.uk/gall...=18&albumid=73

[Princess Larisa]

It does look like her in this photo.
Would this be a day school for Louise?

[Iluvbertie]

Originally Posted by Rosena6

Do their kids attend boarding school?
I read that only Beatrice attended a day school, unlike her cousins. Is that true?
I thought her sister was a day scholar, too?

Beatrice went to St George's at Ascot which is a day school because they had an excellent unit for students with dyslexia with which she was diagnosed at a very young age.

Eugenie boarded at Marlborough - the same school Kate attended.

[Countessmeout]

Originally Posted by Princess Larisa

It does look like her in this photo.
Would this be a day school for Louise?

Yes, its only about 10 minutes away from Bagshot.

[HereditaryPrincess]

Not really relevant to the BRF, but didn’t Princess Caroline of Monaco also attend St. Mary’s for a while? It seems to be a popular secondary choice for royals. I had expected Louise to go to Marlborough but St. Mary’s seems like an evident choice when its so near to Bagshot. I have a feeling that she will stay there until she finishes school as the Wessexes have always striked me as the sort of parents who want their children to be close by (not meant negatively, by the way - and also due to Louise having struggles with esotropia [but this does seem to have improved a lot lately] they may naturally feel more protective over her) so St. Mary’s feels like a good choice for them.

[Countessmeout]

Originally Posted by HereditaryPrincess

Not really relevant to the BRF, but didn’t Princess Caroline of Monaco also attend St. Mary’s for a while? It seems to be a popular secondary choice for royals. I had expected Louise to go to Marlborough but St. Mary’s seems like an evident choice when its so near to Bagshot. I have a feeling that she will stay there until she finishes school as the Wessexes have always striked me as the sort of parents who want their children to be close by (not meant negatively, by the way - and also due to Louise having struggles with esotropia [but this does seem to have improved a lot lately] they may naturally feel more protective over her) so St. Mary’s feels like a good choice for them.

Yes Caroline also attended the school.

For royals boarding schools are practical. The reality is that parents aren't home every night anyways. Whether they go to boarding school or stay home, Louise and James don't have mom and dad home every night for dinner. They will have had a nanny or such just like the Cambridge kids. Their parents travel a great deal both in the UK and abroad like any senior royals do. I know they make an effort though not to travel when their kids are on school holidays.

Windsor is a great area, in that there are a number of private schools close by, both boarding and day schools. St Mary's certainly wasn't the only option. Like St George's, there are others with royal pedigree as well.

Going to boarding school and being home on weekends is likely a consideration later on.

I have said it before, with senior royals at least, I don't think we will ever see a move away from boarding schools. Just simply waiting until the kids are older then they were in the past.

Something like Marlburough is only an hour away. Easy for weekends home, or visits from her parents.

[Somebody]

Originally Posted by HereditaryPrincess

The penultimate girl towards the end of the second row in the first photo seems to be Lady Louise to me. I did a bit of poking around on St. Mary’s website as sometimes royal students are included in photos:

St Mary's School Ascot - Year 9 Team-building day

Looks like you're right! Great searching.

[Molly2101]

Good find! I hadn’t expected her to attend St Mary’s as it is a Roman Catholicism school but hey ho. Lady Margarita Armstrong-Jones and the fairness of the Duke of Kent went to St Mary’s.

I do wonder where James will go next.

[Countessmeout]

Originally Posted by Molly2101

Good find! I hadn’t expected her to attend St Mary’s as it is a Roman Catholicism school but hey ho. Lady Margarita Armstrong-Jones and the fairness of the Duke of Kent went to St Mary’s.

I do wonder where James will go next.

The fairness of the duke of Kent??? I assume you mean his granddaughters. Amelia and Marina did attend yes. His daughter Helen attended a different St Mary's, in Oxford (which no longer exists, it is now part of Heathfield). Lady Margarita's mother actually attended the same St Mary's as Helen did.

It will be interesting to see where James goes. Perhaps Eton.

I was surprised Louise is going to all girls school, since they started co-ed. I wonder if we will see James at an all-boys like Eton or Hampton.

[Molly2101]

Originally Posted by Countessmeout

The fairness of the duke of Kent??? I assume you mean his granddaughters. Amelia and Marina did attend yes. His daughter Helen attended a different St Mary's, in Oxford (which no longer exists, it is now part of Heathfield). Lady Margarita's mother actually attended the same St Mary's as Helen did.

It will be interesting to see where James goes. Perhaps Eton.

I was surprised Louise is going to all girls school, since they started co-ed. I wonder if we will see James at an all-boys like Eton or Hampton.

I did mean his granddaughters! I wrote that post during my night shift when I obviously wasn’t firing on all cylinders.

I’m not surprised Louise has gone to an all girls school. Sophie attended an all girls school and Edward’s school at the time was all boys.

It will be interesting to see where James goes. There are a few co-Ed private schools in Surrey. There is an all boys near me in Guildford (about 25 minutes from Bagshot) called Royal Grammar School which may be a possibility. If it then I can see Eton being the school of choice for young James.

[HereditaryPrincess]

Louise is in Year 9 now which is the year most English students choose their GCSE options so there doesn’t seem much point in sending her to a boarding school in her last two years of secondary school. I’m guessing that Margarita moved at the beginning of the year so she most likely hadn’t made a final decision in regards to options yet. For sixth form, yes (even then unless she is unhappy with St. Mary’s or is wanting to go into a specialist field it seems more practical to stay on) but not whilst she has just settled down at a new school and has already considered (I presume, since it’s April now and when I was Louise’s age I had definitely chosen my GCSE subjects by April - there are some schools who even choose them in Year 8) her options. It would be too disruptive during what is an important couple of years for her. I see the benefits of boarding school for Louise in terms of parents on engagements but sometimes educational pragmatics has to come before tradition. This is all speculation of course; we’ll see over the next couple of years

[Countessmeout]

St Mary's is a boarding school as well as day school. Students are either day boarders (they eat all their meals there but they live at home) or full boarders. It could very well be why they chose it. In time Louise may transition into a full boarding, where she is still nice and close to home. Or may continue as a day boarder, where she has a lot of independence being at school almost all days, but still at home at night.

Of the 'destination schools', if they choose an all boys school for James:

-Hampton: is a day school, about 23 minutes away from Bagshot
-Windor boy's school: about 20 minutes from home
-Eton: 21 minutes from home
-St James: 23 minutes from home

There are also a number of good co-educational schools to choose from. Windsor is certainly a good place for royals to raise kids, with many top education choices near.

[Hopewell]

Originally Posted by Molly2101

I did mean his granddaughters! I wrote that post during my night shift when I obviously wasn’t firing on all cylinders.

I’m not surprised Louise has gone to an all girls school. Sophie attended an all girls school and Edward’s school at the time was all boys.

It will be interesting to see where James goes. There are a few co-Ed private schools in Surrey. There is an all boys near me in Guildford (about 25 minutes from Bagshot) called Royal Grammar School which may be a possibility. If it then I can see Eton being the school of choice for young James.

Edward went to an all-boy prep (Heatherdown--since closed) but Gordonstoun was co-ed then. Helen Windsor, Marina Ogilvy and India Hicks went there for a few years as well.

With Edward taking over the D of E patronages I wonder, if not Gordonstoun, then another school in that "network" like Wellington--where Helen Taylor's boys went. Otherwise, I would think Eton is very likely for James. I know he was at the St George's Windsor Castle but has he moved on to a prep? We hear so little about these two.

[Claire]

Hello - isn’t this a Catholic school? Do we have an idea where James is currently, much speculation about St. George but nothing confirmed?

[Hopewell]

Originally Posted by IloveCP

I wonder if Louise gets bullied because of her eye problem.I hope not.Louise seems like she is very confidant at public events.Edward and Sophie are very brave to let her go to school and be not home-schooled.

It's been surgically corrected.

[HereditaryPrincess]

Originally Posted by Claire

Hello - isn’t this a Catholic school? Do we have an idea where James is currently, much speculation about St. George but nothing confirmed?

Yes; St. Mary's is Catholic. As stated above it has been a popular choice for royals with Lady Margarita Armstrong-Jones, Lady Marina-Charlotte and Marina Windsor, as well as Princess Caroline of Hanover.
I'm not sure where James attends. I presume he is at St. George's based on the fact that that's where Louise attended and it makes sense to send siblings to the same school; but I could be incorrect. I doubt we'll know for sure, unless we see a sighting of him in his uniform or someone else does some digging like I did with Louise's new school, we will never get information released publicly. I think it was first known Louise went to St. George's when she was seen watching the Order of the Garter parade with her school some years ago.

[bertie5252003]

I think given the current wedding we are all so obsessed about being or going to a Catholic school is nothing ....IMO

[Countessmeout]

Originally Posted by bertie5252003

I think given the current wedding we are all so obsessed about being or going to a Catholic school is nothing ....IMO

I am sorry but what does Harry's wedding have anything to do with a catholic school or not

Many non catholics go to catholic schools. There is nothing wrong with her attending one. Its not as she is converting.

With Edward taking over the D of E patronages I wonder, if not Gordonstoun, then another school in that "network" like Wellington--where Helen Taylor's boys went. Otherwise, I would think Eton is very likely for James. I know he was at the St George's Windsor Castle but has he moved on to a prep? We hear so little about these two.

James isn't likely to go to a prep school. St George's goes up to 13, which is the age kids start at Eton and many of the other top schools. William and Harry went to prep schools, because their earlier school ended at 8.

[HereditaryPrincess]

Originally Posted by bertie5252003

I think given the current wedding we are all so obsessed about being or going to a Catholic school is nothing ....IMO

I was answering a question but I don't understand why Harry's wedding is relevant here. Yes, it's garnered a lot of attention but that doesn't mean we can't stop discussing other things.