Atheist Nick Clegg will send son Antonio to Catholic secondary London Oratory in Fulham

 
Nick and Miriam Clegg
Daily Mail
WEST END FINAL

Get our award-winning daily news email featuring exclusive stories, opinion and expert analysis

I would like to be emailed about offers, event and updates from Evening Standard. Read our privacy notice.

Nick Clegg and his wife Miriam are to send their eldest son to the sought-after Catholic school where Tony Blair’s boys were pupils.

The couple’s decision to send Antonio, 11, to the London Oratory in Fulham is likely to spark controversy as there are several other state schools closer to their south-west London home.

The Liberal Democrat leader and Deputy Prime Minister has also described himself as not an “active believer” in God, although he has said he is committed to bringing up his children in the Catholic faith. His wife is a Catholic.

There had been speculation that the couple could choose an independent school after Mr Clegg kept open that option for Antonio and his other two children Alberto, eight and Miguel, four.

“If it works out to send them to a good state [secondary] we will do so but, like all parents sending their children to secondary school in London, as you know there is huge competition for places,” he recently told LBC radio.

Today, Mr Clegg’s spokesman said: “In response to media enquiries, Nick and Miriam can confirm that they have decided to send their eldest son, Antonio, from September onwards to the London Oratory School, a state Catholic secondary school.

“He is currently a pupil at a state Catholic primary school, Our Lady of Victories in Putney, where he has been going for the last six years. Now that their decision has been made public, they hope that the privacy of their son will be respected.”

Mr Clegg, who was privately educated at Westminster School, was asked six years ago in a radio interview if he believed in God, to which he replied: “No”. He later added: “I am not myself an active believer, but the last thing I would do when talking or thinking about religion is approach it with a closed heart or a closed mind.”

The headmaster of the London Oratory, David McFadden, said his school would be a “natural choice” for the Cleggs, who live in Putney.

Thousands of children in London found out on Friday which state school they had been allocated.

Mark Phillips, the principal of Ark Putney academy, has said he did not believe that the Cleggs had visited his school to see whether it would be suitable for their sons.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in