King Charles has criticised the lack of vocational education in schools during his appearance in a special edition of the BBC television show The Repair Shop.
In the one-off episode, to be broadcast by the BBC on Wednesday, he praises the value of technical skills and apprenticeships, and describes the lack of vocational education as a “great tragedy”.
His comments were made during filming at Dumfries House in Scotland before the Queen’s death, when he was still Prince of Wales, but as king they could raise eyebrows for straying into education policy and political comment.
In The Repair Shop: A Royal Visit, the then prince seeks help from the presenter, Jay Blades, and his team to mend an 18th-century bracket clock and a piece of Wemyss Ware pottery made for Queen Victoria’s diamond jubilee.
During the course of the episode, Charles is filmed meeting students from the Prince’s Foundation building craft programme, a training initiative that teaches traditional skills including blacksmithing, stonemasonry and wood carving.
He says: “I still think the great tragedy is the lack of vocational education in schools, actually not everybody is designed for the academic.
“I know from the Prince’s Trust, I have seen the difference we can make to people who have technical skills which we need all the time, I have the greatest admiration for people.
“I think that’s been the biggest problem, sometimes that is forgotten. Apprenticeships are vital but they just abandoned apprenticeships for some reason. It gives people intense satisfaction and reward.”
Although Charles’s views may find sympathy with many of those responsible for education policy in Westminster, experts say he is unlikely to have been so candid had he been king at the time he expressed them.
“I think he’s on the right side about education,” said the author and historian Sir Anthony Seldon. “He is progressive and holistic. He’s been a lifelong champion of skills and people using their head, heart and hands.”
But he added: “I think he probably wouldn’t have said it had he been the king.”
As Prince of Wales, Charles was notoriously outspoken in his views on GM crops, architecture and the environment and was accused by his critics of “meddling” in government policy. As king, however, he has ppromised to stay out of politics. “I think he understands that as monarch he cannot enter the political fray,” said Seldon.
Stephen Clear, a lecturer in constitutional and administrative law at Bangor University, said everyone accepted the king would have private, personal views on education and how best to nurture individuals to realise their talents.
“However, in respect of criticising the education system, these comments should be viewed in the same light as the king’s formerly expressed views surrounding climate change, agricultural policy and the environment – prior to becoming monarch.
“Since the start of his reign, the king has vowed to change his working practices, uphold the nation’s vital parliamentary traditions, and in essence not intervene in political affairs. Out of necessity, for the constitutional monarchy to survive, it must remain politically neutral and not intervene in lawmaking processes or matters of politics.
“King Charles’s public statements and declarations, so far, are all indicative of him fully appreciating and recognising the ‘rulebook’ which also governed his mother’s reign, and not wanting to meddle in political affairs as king.”
A Department for Education spokesperson said: “We recognise that an academic route is not for everyone. Young people now have a range of high-quality technical and vocational training options to choose from including apprenticeships and new T-level qualifications in a range of exciting subjects, helping them gain the skills they need to forge a great career.”
