Former education secretary says private school ‘best for son’

THE former British Education Secretary yesterday defended her decision to send her son to a £15,000-a-year (€22,300) private school for help with his “substantial” learning difficulties.

Communities Secretary Ruth Kelly insisted she had to do the “right thing” for her child, who is believed to have dyslexia, by taking him out of the state system for a “couple of years”.

She stressed that the taxpayer would not be asked to shell out for the fees — even though the family may be eligible for financial help.

“I appreciate that some will disagree with my decision,” she said in a statement. “But we all face difficult choices as parents and I, like any mother, want to do the right thing for my son.”

Downing Street and Cabinet colleagues rallied around to bolster Ms Kelly’s position last night, despite signs of anger from some Labour backbenchers.

There was also an unlikely ally in Tory leader David Cameron, who insisted Ms Kelly was not a “hypocrite”. He told GMTV it was a “personal matter”, adding that she was “a parent first”.

Prime Minister Tony Blair’s spokesman made it clear that ministers would not be punished for sending their children to schools outside the state system.

“What the Prime Minister supports absolutely is the right of parents to make choices about their children’s education which are best suited to their children’s needs, irrespective of who their parents are or what job they do,” he said.

But Labour backbencher Ian Gibson, the Norwich North MP, insisted that the move was “wrong”.