As a parent, you trust your government not to lie to you when it tells you that your children are safe. When you see Ofsted, the English education watchdog, has inspected a school, you trust that the grading awarded reflects the reality of school life.
But the government is lying to the parents of children at the Army Foundation College in Harrogate, the UK Armed Forces’ main training establishment for 16- and 17-year-olds.
An average of 2,380 children have trained at AFC Harrogate each year for the past five years. Its brochure tells would-be recruits and their parents of “world-class” opportunities, “lifelong friendships” and “unforgettable memories” and boasts that Ofsted has repeatedly awarded the college an ‘Outstanding’ grade for welfare and duty of care since 2012.
