Sarah Beeny criticizes London schools because they treat ‘the arts as a non-subject’. She says she relocated her boys from London to Somerset for better education and now she plans to create a FILM STUDIO in her 220-acre property.

  • This Morning, property entrepreneur spoke about the Christmas special she was producing for New Life in the Country (Channel 4). 
  • The family has moved to the country for better education.  
  • Beeny said that “schools in big cities don’t promote the arts” and she wanted country life for her children, Charlie and Rafferty.
  • To support the arts, she said that she could build a studio for film on the estate. 










Sarah Beeny is an entrepreneur in property and has condemned city schools because they don’t focus on the arts enough. 

Appearing on This Morning today to promote the Christmas special of her show New Life in the Country on Channel 4, the television star, 49, said the four sons she shares with husband Graham Swift have a better education in the country. 

Beeny criticized urban schools by claiming that her sons had taught the arts in London’s previous schools. 

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Property entrepreneur Sarah Beeny was on This Morning talking about the Christmas special for her show New Life in the Country on Channel 4, which documents her family's move to a 220-acre former dairy farm in Somerset

Sarah Beeny is a property entrepreneur and was speaking on This Morning to discuss the Christmas special she made for New Life in the Country, Channel 4. It documents the family’s relocation from a Somerset dairy farm on 220-acres.

Beeny told the show that 'schools in cities don't celebrate the arts' and that she wanted a country upbringing for her four sons Laurie, Charlie, Rafferty and Billy

Beeny said that “schools in big cities don’t promote the arts” and she wanted country life for her children, Charlie and Rafferty.

The family are busy building a new sustainable home on the rural estate - and Beeny revealed that she hopes to build a film studio on the sprawling estate in years to come to help young people who want to get into the creative industry

The family are busy building a new sustainable home on the rural estate – and Beeny revealed that she hopes to build a film studio on the sprawling estate in years to come to help young people who want to get into the creative industry

She told the show that her four sons's previous schools in London had treated 'the arts like it's a non-subject', saying: 'My kids are really musical and it was treated like it was a non-subject. We moved for education.'

The show was interrupted by her telling the audience that her sons had attended London schools and treated “the arts as a nonsubject”. She said: “My children are truly musical, so it was treated as if it were a nonsubject.” “We moved to education.

She explained: ‘The move to Somerset was mainly because I wanted the kids to go to a school where the arts were celebrated. 

‘I feel there’s a lot of pressure in cities…for me, I think a lot of education treats the arts like it’s a secondary subject. The arts offer many career options. 

“To treat the arts as if it were a nonsubject is absurd,” she said. I was really surprised that it wasn’t considered an issue because it is a musical instrument for my kids. Therefore, we decided to move for higher education.

Star joked that New Life in the Country was nonsense, which follows the progress of the family as it builds a sustainable country home. 

'There are plenty of careers in the arts' The property expert said the arts were close to the family's hearts and that education in the country was more arts-focused

“There are many careers in the Arts” The expert in property said that the arts are close to their hearts, and that the education system in the country is more arts-focused.

The family all star in New Life in the Country, as their dream of building a modern, sustainable five-bedroom stately home is realised

New Life in the Country features the family and their dreams of building a sustainable, five-bedroom home.

Learning curve: Beeny said 'I assumed I understood everything about the countryside' but admits that their ambitious project hasn't all been plain sailing

Learning curve: Beeny said ‘I assumed I understood everything about the countryside’ but admits that their ambitious project hasn’t all been plain sailing

Alongside a zip wire, the boys will also get a tree house, which is the subjct of the show's Christmas special

The show’s Christmas Special will include a zipwire and a treehouse. 

The project has taken years to go from plans to fruition, with the first series of the show documenting how the couple intended to build their dream home - now they're well on their way to finishing the project

This project took many years from planning to completion. While the initial series focused on how the couple envisioned building their dream home, the second series focuses more on what’s happening now that they’re close to finalizing the construction.

Laurie, Charlie Rafferty, Rafferty, and Billy star together in this series. They help transform a Somerset dairy farm that was once semi-derelict into their luxurious dream house.

They have planted over 20,000 trees on the farmland around their house and also installed a bee-farm and zip wire that includes a treehouse. 

Criticism: Some viewers tuning into the latest series have said the show is jarring at a time when many are facing food poverty

 Criticism: Some viewers tuning into the latest series have said the show is jarring at a time when many are facing food poverty

This Morning’s Vernon Kay and Rochelle Humes spoke to Beeny about how life was different in rural areas. However, Beeny said that it had been an uphill climb, even though she grew up in rural settings. Beeny stated that her experience living in the country meant she did not know as much as she should have. 

Since its November debut, the Channel 4 program has been subject to criticism. 

Some viewers feel that the Beeny family’s realization of their royal dreams is disturbing considering the number of people living in poverty across the UK. 

In the second episode, the couple posed for a 3-D scanner in order to make busts of themselves. Beeny confesses that her husband is secretly a “lord of manor” to her.

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