London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Wednesday, Sep 17, 2025

Taxpayers spent £10.5m on fees for diplomats' children at UK schools

Taxpayers spent £10.5m on fees for diplomats' children at UK schools

The Foreign Office spent £371,827 sending the children of top diplomats to Eton in 2021/22, official figures obtained by Labour have revealed.

The Eton figure represents 3.5% of the £10.54m spent by the government on UK private schools last year.

The boarding school subsidies are for top diplomats who may be posted abroad at short notice.

The Foreign Office says it wants to ensure children don't have their education disrupted if their parents have to leave the country.

In the same year, £21.38m was spent on school fees for 902 UK diplomats' children in education overseas.

Under the longstanding scheme - called the Continuity of Education Allowance - senior Foreign Office staff can apply to have up to 90% of their children's school fees paid by the taxpayer if they contribute the remaining 10% themselves.

A total of 531 children had their education subsidised at UK schools in 2021/22.

In the last academic year, the maximum amount that could be claimed for secondary pupils to board at schools was set at £11,814 per term, equivalent to £35,442 per year.


'Put out'


Ten children subsidised to attend Eton College last year did so at a total cost of £371,827 - an average of £37,182, about 5% higher than the maximum allowance.

We asked the Foreign Office why the average amount spent at Eton appears to be higher than the cap but they did not give an explanation for the discrepancy.

The figures were obtained through Freedom of Information requests by Labour's shadow attorney general Emily Thornberry.

James Roberts, managing director of the TaxPayers' Alliance campaign group, said: "Hard-pressed taxpayers will feel put out by these figures.

"While it's understandable that diplomats want the best education for their kids, we don't need to subsidise sending their children to our most elite public schools.

"Diplomats should expect to send their children to one of our brilliant state schools, like everybody else does, or pay private school fees themselves."

The maximum amounts in 2021/22 diplomats could claim for children included £11,814 per term for "senior boarder" fees, £8,270 for "senior day school" fees, £10,385 for "junior boarder" fees, and £7,629 for "junior day" fees.


'Academic development'


Labour's Freedom of Information request showed the amounts spent by the government at the 10 UK private schools where the most places were funded in 2021/22.

These included £629,073 spent on 23 pupils at Sevenoaks School, in Kent, and £381,851 on 11 pupils to Oundle School, in Northamptonshire.

In its current form, the allowance dates back to 1996.

A Foreign Office spokesperson said: "In order to represent UK interests across the world, our diplomatic and development staff can be asked to move frequently during their career, sometimes at very short notice.

"It is our longstanding policy to support eligible families with education, to ensure that children do not suffer any disruption during key points in their academic development, and there are clear caps in place on compensation offered to staff that are reviewed regularly."

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Hong Kong Industry Group Calls for HK$20 Billion Support Fund to Ease Property Market Stress
Joe Biden’s Post-Presidency Speaking Fees Face Weak Demand amid Corporate Reluctance
Charlie Kirk's murder will break the left's hateful cancel tactics
Kash Patel erupts at ‘buffoon’ Sen. Adam Schiff over Russiagate: ‘You are the biggest fraud’
Homeland Security says Emmy speech ‘fanning the flames of hatred’ after Einbinder’s ‘F— ICE’ remark
Charlie Kirk’s Alleged Assassin Tyler Robinson Faces Death Penalty as Charges Formally Announced
Actor, director, environmentalist Robert Redford dies at 89
The conservative right spreads westward: a huge achievement for 'Alternative for Germany' in local elections
JD Vance Says There Is “No Unity” with Those Who Celebrate Charlie Kirk’s Killing, and he is right!
Trump sues the 'New York Times' for an astronomical sum of 15 billion dollars
Florida Hospital Welcomes Its Largest-Ever Baby: Annan, Nearly Fourteen Pounds at Birth
U.S. and Britain Poised to Finalize Over $10 Billion in High-Tech, Nuclear and Defense Deals During Trump State Visit
China Finds Nvidia Violated Antitrust Laws in Mellanox Deal, Deepens Trade Tensions with US
US Air Force Begins Modifications on Qatar-Donated Jet Amid Plans to Use It as Air Force One
Pope Leo Warns of Societal Crisis Over Mega-CEO Pay, Citing Tesla’s Proposed Trillion-Dollar Package
Poland Green-Lights NATO Deployment in Response to Major Russian Drone Incursion
Elon Musk Retakes Lead as World’s Richest After Brief Ellison Surge
U.S. and China Agree on Framework to Shift TikTok to American Ownership
London Daily Podcast: London Massive Pro Democracy Rally, Musk Support, UK Economic Data and Premier League Results Mark Eventful Weekend
This Week in AI: Meta’s Superintelligence Push, xAI’s Ten Billion-Dollar Raise, Genesis AI’s Robotics Ambitions, Microsoft Restructuring, Amazon’s Million-Robot Milestone, and Google’s AlphaGenome Update
Le Pen Tightens the Pressure on Macron as France Edges Toward Political Breakdown
Musk calls for new UK government at huge pro-democracy rally in London, but Britons have been brainwashed to obey instead of fighting for their human rights
Elon Musk responds to post calling for the murder of Erika Kirk, widow of Charlie Kirk: 'Either we fight back or they will kill us'
Czech Republic signs €1.34 billion contract for Leopard 2A8 main battle tanks with delivery from 2028
USA: Office Depot Employees Refused to Print Poster in Memory of Charlie Kirk – and Were Fired
Proposed U.S. Bill Would Allow Civil Suits Against Judges Who Release Repeat Violent Offenders
Penske Media Sues Google Over “AI Overviews,” Claiming It Uses Journalism Without Consent and Destroys Traffic
Indian Student Engineers Propose “Project REBIRTH” to Protect Aircraft from Crashes Using AI, Airbags and Smart Materials
French Debt Downgrade Piles Pressure on Macron’s New Prime Minister
US and UK Near Tech, Nuclear and Whisky Deals Ahead of Trump Trip
One in Three Europeans Now Uses TikTok, According to the Chinese Tech Giant
Could AI Nursing Robots Help Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
NATO Deploys ‘Eastern Sentry’ After Russian Drones Violate Polish Airspace
Anesthesiologist Left Operation Mid-Surgery to Have Sex with Nurse
Tens of Thousands of Young Chinese Get Up Every Morning and Go to Work Where They Do Nothing
The New Life of Novak Djokovic
The German Owner of Politico Mathias Döpfner Eyes Further U.S. Media Expansion After Axel Springer Restructuring
Suspect Arrested: Utah Man in Custody for Charlie Kirk’s Fatal Shooting
In a politically motivated trial: Bolsonaro Sentenced to 27 Years for Plotting Coup After 2022 Defeat
German police raid AfD lawmaker’s offices in inquiry over Chinese payments
Turkish authorities seize leading broadcaster amid fraud and tax investigation
Volkswagen launches aggressive strategy to fend off Chinese challenge in Europe’s EV market
ChatGPT CEO signals policy to alert authorities over suicidal youth after teen’s death
The British legal mafia hit back: Banksy mural of judge beating protester is scrubbed from London court
Surpassing Musk: Larry Ellison becomes the richest man in the world
Embarrassment for Starmer: He fired the ambassador photographed on Epstein’s 'pedophile island'
Manhunt after 'skilled sniper' shot Charlie Kirk. Footage: Suspect running on rooftop during panic
Effective Protest Results: Nepal’s Prime Minister Resigns as Youth-Led Unrest Shakes the Nation
Qatari prime minister says Netanyahu ‘killed any hope’ for Israeli hostages
King Charles and Prince Harry Share First In-Person Moment in 19 Months
×