Why George’s new school really is fit for a prince

PRINCE George’s new school was hailed yesterday as offering ‘the best English education money can buy’.

Thomas’s, a private £19,884-ayear prep school in Battersea, south west London, was described as ‘competitive and oversubscribed’ in the latest Good Schools Guide.

The third in line to the throne, who turned four in July, will be one of the youngest pupils in his class when he arrives early next month. According to the guide, the family-owned school is so popular that parents are encouraged to register their child at birth.

There are at least three applicants for each place and the school even has a criteria of what they look for in a child – including ‘a light in their eyes’.

The guide, which is based on parent reviews, describes it as a ‘big, busy, slightly chaotic school for cosmopolitan parents who want their children to have the best English education money can buy.’

Sports include sculling and the site boasts two pottery rooms and a ‘fantastic’ rooftop playground. Many of its 40 pupils aged four to 13 go on to public schools such as Eton.