General News for the Cambridge Family 2: January 2015-March 2017


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There are private schools that offer full scholarships to students from a lower socioeconomic group to attend in an effort to boost diversity.:) It is possible that Wetherby is one of them.
 
According to their website they are starting a bursary fund. Right now it's purpose is to help current students whose families hit a hard patch. But as the bursary grows, it seems they plan to offer scholarships. As it stands, the upper prep school belongs to a group of schools which offers two scholarships a year from what I have read.
 
Yeah, we all know this is coming up.

I do hope George gets a chance to go to school with kids from all kinds of different backgrounds and experiences.

I think that this isn't going to happen at this stage.

If George attends Wetherby, it mean being at school with children who's parents (a) can afford it and (b) thought about it some time ago because there is a waiting list. To my mind, this points to fathers who also attended, so high chance of maintaining whatever the mix of the school is.

There is the opportunity to be with children of different ethnic groups but not with children from poorer backgrounds.
 
It's the same school William and Harry went to...wasn't it diverse back then? Seems like Diana (and presumably Charles) picked that one due to the fact it had more diversity in the student body.


LaRae

Possibly more diversity ethnicity wise, but certainly not walk of life. It is a 6500/term pre-prep in notting hill. The kids will all come from the same kind of up bringing

There are private schools that offer full scholarships to students from a lower socioeconomic group to attend in an effort to boost diversity.:) It is possible that Wetherby is one of them.

Wetherby is just a "normal" central London private school. Most of these "normal" schools have children from a pretty diverse ethnic background, often of very different nationalities. Yes, as it is a fee paying school, often a lot of the parents are quite well off, but you often also have parents who are making personal sacrifices to send their children to these schools. That sad, the vast majority of the children have parents who are professionals often Accountants, Lawyers, Bankers and so on.
 
So has their living quarters at KP been fully renovated? Didn't they take over Princess Margaret's old rooms?


LaRae
 
Where I come from diversity isn't simply about ethnicity but people of different walks of life. I am sorry but painting a kindergarten that charges over 20,000 pounds a year (according to their site tuition is up to over 6800/term) as a 'normal' school is way off. Yes, many parents sacrifice yo send their kids to better schools, but this is a salary for many people. There are certainly more affordable private schools which offer bursaries to help off set tuition costs, fir families willing to sacrifice. This is not one of them. He may go to school with kids from all different national backgrounds, but they will all come from pretty posh backgrounds, and all go on to posh schools like Ludgrove after.
 
I don't have a problem with the Cambridge's going to a 'posh' school. Most parents are going to send their kids to the very best schools they can afford. Their parents aren't any different.

Parochial schools are often very expensive too although at least some of them have scholarship programs to help with tuition costs.


LaRae
 
So has their living quarters at KP been fully renovated? Didn't they take over Princess Margaret's old rooms?


LaRae

Yes Apartment 1A was fully renovated (asbestos removal, wiring and plumbing updates etc..) in 2013.
 
Where I come from diversity isn't simply about ethnicity but people of different walks of life. I am sorry but painting a kindergarten that charges over 20,000 pounds a year (according to their site tuition is up to over 6800/term) as a 'normal' school is way off. Yes, many parents sacrifice yo send their kids to better schools, but this is a salary for many people. There are certainly more affordable private schools which offer bursaries to help off set tuition costs, fir families willing to sacrifice. This is not one of them. He may go to school with kids from all different national backgrounds, but they will all come from pretty posh backgrounds, and all go on to posh schools like Ludgrove after.

What Wetherby charges is pretty much what most central London private schools charge, give or take.

I agree that, in the broader scheme of things, not many can afford to spend £20,000 a year on school fees, but that is the going rate. Parents have the choice of whether to send their children to private or state schools, or move out of London where the schools are cheaper.

This is one of the reasons it is often suggested that only the relativeky well off or the relatively poor (often in council housing) end up living in central London.
 
So has their living quarters at KP been fully renovated? Didn't they take over Princess Margaret's old rooms?


LaRae

It was renovated several years ago. They have been living in the apartments since George was a baby. They moved out of nots cottage, where Harry now lives, when the work was done. The only change is that it will be their full time home, with Amner on occasion, not the other way,


As for schools, I have no issue with posh schools. I agree mode parents with the money would. Simply replying to comments that it is not a very diverse school, other then ethnically perhaps.
 
So has their living quarters at KP been fully renovated? Didn't they take over Princess Margaret's old rooms?


LaRae

Oh yes. KP is their official London residence and it's fully renovated. It's just they we're living at their country residence while William worked with the Air Ambulance.
 
I knew they had been living there awhile...but I wasn't sure if all the renovations had been done yet. Lost track!

Thanks!


LaRae
 
Wetherby is just a "normal" central London private school. Most of these "normal" schools have children from a pretty diverse ethnic background, often of very different nationalities. Yes, as it is a fee paying school, often a lot of the parents are quite well off, but you often also have parents who are making personal sacrifices to send their children to these schools. That sad, the vast majority of the children have parents who are professionals often Accountants, Lawyers, Bankers and so on.

and these parents don't sell George's pictures to tabloids or tell stories to make some extra money
 
Wetherby is just a "normal" central London private school. Most of these "normal" schools have children from a pretty diverse ethnic background, often of very different nationalities. Yes, as it is a fee paying school, often a lot of the parents are quite well off, but you often also have parents who are making personal sacrifices to send their children to these schools. That sad, the vast majority of the children have parents who are professionals often Accountants, Lawyers, Bankers and so on.

Not just anyone can go there, though. The school reserves places for the children of alumni.
Also, if you read about it, the school apparently asks about your connections.
It's hinted that you need to drop names to get a place.

This won't pertain to George, of course, but I would be very surprised if he gets to meet anyone from a truly diverse background.
 
I'm sure they will. Afterall Diana took her boys around 'regular' people quite often. I would be surprised if W&K don't do that too.


LaRae
 
Not just anyone can go there, though. The school reserves places for the children of alumni.
Also, if you read about it, the school apparently asks about your connections.
It's hinted that you need to drop names to get a place.

This won't pertain to George, of course, but I would be very surprised if he gets to meet anyone from a truly diverse background.

Most London schools, private or state, have a policy giving preference to siblings or children of current or former pupils.

Of the London day schools, Wetherby is not the most difficult to get into.
 
General News for the Cambridge Family Part 2: January 2015

Wetherby is just a "normal" central London private school. Most of these "normal" schools have children from a pretty diverse ethnic background, often of very different nationalities. Yes, as it is a fee paying school, often a lot of the parents are quite well off, but you often also have parents who are making personal sacrifices to send their children to these schools. That sad, the vast majority of the children have parents who are professionals often Accountants, Lawyers, Bankers and so on.

As someone who was privately educated for their primary and a large part of their secondary education, I think this is true. Originally, my family is working class though my mother wanted me to be privately educated as she believed it would be better for me (although it wasn't beneficial for me at all, and it's now lead me to not be in favour of the private system). She worked very hard to get me into those schools. At my primary school; there was a pretty even balance between "normal" students and wealthier students, though at my secondary school it was a bit more divided and I was one of the least well off students in my class. As you have said, so not all children who attend private schools come from upper class or aristocratic families; but I've observed that particularly in London there are also a large number of children who are from such families.

It seems that it's a tradition in the BRF for children to attend private and/or public school so in this instance I'm not opposed to George and most likely Charlotte being sent to one (as they are carrying on a family tradition); but I also hope that George (and Charlotte) will get to meet children from various walks of life.
 
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I do believe that the issue of providing safety and security for the Cambridge kids, their classmates and the school staff will be one of the factors in determining a school. There might be a tendency to go with an institution that has already worked with the royal protection branch in the past.
 
There are varying degrees of private school. There are those which cost as low as 5000/year which is do able for lower income families with sacrifices and hard work. Then there are schools like Wetherby which three terms is about equally the average annual income in London. With only two scholarships, which are in the upper schools and split between several schools, there is also no financial aid..

As much as Diana tried, I wouldn't say her boys had much of a real diverse background. Going to fast food and amusement parks isn't interacting with people if diverse backgrounds, simply being within their vicinity. Hopefully we will see George and Charlotte involved in things like dance or scouts, where they can actually interact with different kids.
 
IMO William and Harry had their first real and meaningful contact with ordinary citizens of the UK when they entered Sandhurst and then went on active duty with the army and other military branches.
 
There would have been ordinary UK citizens at St Andrews.
 
I'm sure they will. Afterall Diana took her boys around 'regular' people quite often. I would be surprised if W&K don't do that too.


LaRae
IMO William and Harry had their first real and meaningful contact with ordinary citizens of the UK when they entered Sandhurst and then went on active duty with the army and other military branches.
I don't think "visiting" homeless shelters or going for rides at a fun park qualify as "meaningful contact" with "ordinary" people. As far as I can see, then as now, it was nothing but photo ops just as William's famous "sleeping under a bridge" for a night was both a photo op and an insult. It turned "ordinary people" into strange people that are not like "us". In short, it was callous exploitation of said ordinary people fallen on hard times.

I do agree that their entree into the world of "ordinary people" citizens was the Army, Sandhurst not so much but definitely the units they were posted to on graduating. The other ranks were their first meaningful, day to day contact.
 
University and the military - not really. Just more of the same and it is natural to gavitate towards people with similar interests.

Where they do meet and interact with "ordinary" people is through their charitable work. The homeless, drug addicts, old people, veterans, poor people, diff ethnicity or nationality or religion.
 
General News for the Cambridge Family Part 2: January 2015

There is a whole variety of people that would have interacted with William while he was at St Andrews - people in his classes, on the sports teams he played, people who worked at the university, townspeople etc.

This people don't have to become life long friends but you are still interacting with the dining hall lady or the clerk in the corner shop.

He was exposed to regular people way more than his grandmother was ever was as a child and young adult
 
University and the military - not really. Just more of the same and it is natural to gavitate towards people with similar interests.

Where they do meet and interact with "ordinary" people is through their charitable work. The homeless, drug addicts, old people, veterans, poor people, diff ethnicity or nationality or religion.

I would argue the people they play sports with, do class projects with, run into the mess hall with and more I'd more meaningful then the the minutes he may talk to a veteran or homeless person. Unlike his over priced boarding and private schools, both university and the military will have people of all walks of life. Yes they would share a sport in common, or a class in common, but that may be it. In military it wouldn't be who you gravitate towards. You train with everyone.
 
He was exposed to regular people way more than his grandmother was ever was as a child and young adult

I wholeheartedly agree that William and Harry had far more exposure to the ordinary citizens of the UK than their paternal grandmother.
 
I would say perhaps even more than Charles at that age.


LaRae
 
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