What’s in store on George’s first day
Every morning starts with a handshake. There’s puy lentils for lunch. Ballet’s compulsory but homework isn’t. There’s even a ski chalet! As the Prince starts school...
TODAY is Prince George’s first day in reception class at Thomas’s Preparatory School in Battersea, one of four elite schools run by the same family in South-West London. He will be welcomed by a new headmaster, Simon O’Malley, who, despite his grey hair and three decades in teaching, was recently voted one of the UK’s ‘hottest’ six headmasters by society magazine Tatler. But that’s not what makes this institution fit for a future king, as HELEN CARROLL explains...
THERE’S EVEN A DEBATING CLUB FOR FIVE-YEAR-OLDS
IF MUM and Dad are running late, there are no fewer than 24 afterschool clubs at Thomas’s. and don’t assume George will be merely moulding Plasticine or painting papier-mache models.
George will have the chance to join a debating club — it’s never too early to train for the Oxbridge societies — study philosophy, learn Italian or try his hand at songwriting, fencing, golf or pottery.
BALLET IS COMPULSORY — AND ALWAYS INVOLVES A LIVE PIANIST
COMPULSORY for girls and boys, up to the age of seven. Pupils are entered for the prestigious royal academy of Dance examination, also putting on ballet shows for family and friends.
Battersea is the only one of the four Thomas’s schools at which ballet lessons, always accompanied by a live pianist, are a set part of the curriculum, leaving observers questioning whether George has, perhaps, inherited his grandmother’s passion for dance (Diana once famously trod the boards with diminutive ballet star Wayne Sleep).
THE SCHOOL RUN IS A NIGHTMARE
PRIVILEGE and wealth mean nothing to London traffic and kate and William should be aware they face a nightmare hour-long round trip, should they wish to do the school run themselves.
They are hands- on parents and, while, according to a source, acknowledge their presence in the playground might ‘cause a bit of a buzz to start with’, are hopeful, naively perhaps, to eventually blend in with the other less regal mums and dads.
HE’LL BE JOINED BY HIS LITTLE SISTER
WHILE an entirely non-controversial choice for most parents, in sending their child to a mixed-gender school, William and kate are breaking with tradition for the royal Family. Previous generations have favoured single-sex schools — William and Harry attended Wetherby Boys Prep.
But it means that Charlotte will be able to follow in George’s footsteps in a couple of years’ time — and will even be in the same house as her big brother, as is standard practice with siblings at Thomas’s.
THERE’S A SCHOOL SKI CHALET
THE school owns Daheim ski chalet in the beautiful Wurzeralm region of the austrian alps. Bought 25 years ago by the Thomas family, it’s where pupils are taken on trips in years 5 and 6.
Some of the perhaps less welloff parents, coppering up for the £ 18,000- plus- a- year school fees, are understood to have found cause for complaint at being expected to pay for their children to go skiing while struggling to afford holidays for themselves.
HE MAY SIT IN CARA’S SEAT!
THERE has been a school in this Grade II- listed building on Battersea High Street since 1700, when the former Sir Walter St John’s Grammar, the alma mater of author Martin amis, was established for the ‘betterment of bright, ambitious boys’. It became an independent school when it was bought by the Thomas family in 1990. The model Cara Delevingne (pictured below) and singer Florence Welch are among its recent alumni.
EVERY DAY STARTS WITH A HANDSHAKE
NEVER too early to teach good etiquette, the school day begins and ends with a firm handshake, plus good eye contact with the teacher — highly important skills, of course, for youngsters destined to become leaders in their fields.
There is also an expectation that pupils will be ‘unfailingly courteous and polite’, says the school website.
HOMEWORK IS OPTIONAL
DESPITE its strong emphasis on academic success, unlike other schools, both state and independent, homework remains optional, up until year 4. It will, therefore, be a few years before it starts eating into the Cambridges’ precious family time.
rather than being overly pushy, parents are encouraged to allow their children to ‘ flop, relax and do nothing’, and are even reminded by staff that ‘like everything else in moderation, boredom is good’.
ONLY BRIGHT SPARKS NEED APPLY
AT THE tender age of just two or three, Thomas’s hopefuls must take an entrance exam, which, as few are yet able to read and write with any proficiency, relies on natural intelligence, not exam preparation.
Equally prestigious nearby prep schools don’t put applicants through a selection process at this early stage. No doubt there have been plenty of would- be parents weeping into their macchiatos after being rejected this year.
THE FOUNDER IS A FORMER ACTRESS
JOANNA Thomas, 76, a former actress and a mother of three, started the Thomas brand by setting up a kindergarten in Pimlico in 1971. Six years later, her husband, one- time Gurkha Officer, David, joined his wife in founding the first Thomas independent day school for older children, in kensington. The ethos mirrored their own as parents — high academic aims, with a wide curriculum taught by energetic staff. There were accusations of nepotism when
the couple’s son, Ben, who had no teachingt hi qualifications,lifi ti was appointed head some years ago, beating 11 other candidates.
Their other son, Tobyn, was then director of administration for the four schools and just so happened to be on the selection panel. Both stepped down this month to make way for Simon O’Malley — with Ben speaking of studying for a teaching qualification in his spare time.ti
PUPILS DINE LIKE (HEALTHY) KINGS ...
There’S a strict emphasis on healthy food, with no additives or hydrogenated fats and limited in both salt and sugar. hopefully, George has developed a more sophisticated palate than most four-year-olds as the menu includes lamb ragout with garlic and herbs, smoked mackerel on a bed of puy lentils and pork stroganoff with red peppers.
‘We recognise that a balanced diet stimulates the brain, improves concentration, helps the children to study and assists with memory,’ trumpets the school website.
SPORT IS VERY COMPETITIVE
The school puts a strong emphasis on physical activity — something understandably important to Kate, known for her sporting prowess in her youth. however, some parents are said to have objected to the policy of ranking each child in the annual cross country run, right down to ‘last and 200th’ — an approach that has since been dropped. But it has been noted by parents that staff are pretty upfront when it comes to imparting how their child is performing in relation to peers. So that’s game on for the pushiest parents with children in the future king’s class.
IT’S RATHER EXPENSIVE
FEES start at £5,868 per term, aged four, and rise to £6,628 from the age of seven. Additional charges are made for after-school clubs, drama and music lessons, which could add up to a further £1,355 per term.
There is also the option of a doortodoor school bus service, at a further cost of £605 a term.
Unless a team of security officers rides up front with him, it is, however, hard to imagine the heir to the throne taking advantage of this on his journeys to and from Kensington Palace.
KINDNESS IS A SCHOOL RULE
The highlight of each term is the school’s Be extra Kind Day where pupils, from reception up, learn about human rights and those less well-off in the world.
The most important school rule is ‘be kind’ and the aim is for pupils to ‘leave this school with a strong sense of social responsibility’ and to ‘flourish as conscientious and caring citizens of the world’.
IT’S IN YUMMY MUMMY LAND
NAPPY Valley, the name given to the family-centred area of South-West London where the school is located, is notorious for its slim, glamorous and ferociously competitive yummy mummies, many of whom have abandoned six-figure salaries to focus on their little Tabithas and Tarquins.
how many of them will be able to resist sidling up to Kate at pick-up time, hoping for a birthday party invitation — or, better still, an intimate playdate at Kensington Palace with a future king — for their little darlings?