Charles criticises schools

The Prince of Wales is to call for education to rediscover its traditional roots, and will attack "fashionable" teaching theories for betraying young people.

In a TV interview to mark the 21st anniversary of the Prince's Trust charity, he also makes public his pessimism about the future of young people hit by "despair, hopelessness and alienation".

He also praises the new Labour government's plans for a citizen's action service which, he says, might be modelled on the Prince's Trust.

This is being seen as a precursor to a greater dialogue between St James Palace and Downing Street. The Prince and the Prime Minister will hold a substantive meeting during their visit to Hong Kong for the handover ceremony to China.

In an interview with Sir David Frost, to be screened tonight, Prince Charles condemns "fatuous arguments" between so-called progressives and traditionalists and he calls for a "grown-up" consensus approach which recognises the need for some kind of disciplined framework to life.

He adds: "I believe that education needs to rediscover those important features which have been abandoned in the last 30 or 40 years out of a fashionable approach."