Inside the nursery fit for a princess
As Charlotte gets ready for her first day at pre-school, Anna Tyzack looks at Kensington’s ‘hidden gem’
While nursery school can be a tearful and traumatic rite of passage for a firstborn and their parents, it cannot come along fast enough for child number two. This was certainly my experience and what I’m sure the Cambridges will find when Princess Charlotte begins her school career at the Willcocks Nursery School in Kensington tomorrow.
No doubt Charlotte will relish the chance to socialise with other small people while her elder brother, Prince George, is at school, and the Duchess of Cambridge will be pleased to have her out of the house when her third child arrives in April. Only the nanny, Maria Borrallo, may be left wondering what on earth to do for the three hours a day Princess Charlotte is with her friends – although I expect she too will soon find the time passes far too quickly.
The Princess’s pre-school in a church hall behind the Royal Albert Hall is described by Tatler as “a hidden gem”. However, it wasn’t the obvious choice for the Duke and Duchess. Odds were they’d send Charlotte to Thomas’s Kindergarten, the pre-school of Prince George’s school in Battersea, or Maggie & Rose in Chiswick, which belongs to their great friend Rose Van Cutsem, whose daughter, Grace, was a bridesmaid at their wedding. Alice Rose, Tatler education editor, believes it’s the location, within easy scooting distance of Kensington Palace, that will have really sold it to William and Catherine. “We always advise parents to find a nursery close to home, ideally within walking distance,” she says. Victoria Wilson, a former headmistress at Young England, the nursery school in Pimlico where Diana, Princess of Wales (left) worked before her marriage, agrees that proximity to home is the priority when it comes to choosing a nursery. “In the Seventies, nurseries had buses to pick up and drop off children, but now there’s far too much traffic,” she says.
Willcocks, which costs up to £3,050 per term, also happens to be one of London’s original blue-chip preschools – on a par with Young England. “Both are in church halls, run by wonderful, long-standing heads. Both have lengthy waiting lists and both send children on to all the best preps in London,” explains Rose. Birth registration is advised for Willcocks; the non-refundable £125 fee doesn’t guarantee a place.
Founded by Diana Willcocks – aka Miss Willcocks – in 1964 to offer London children a sound start to their education with teaching based on Montessori methods, it is now run by headmistress Lavinia Taylor and is as small and nurturing as ever, with just 32 children in the early years group. Ofsted rates it as outstanding, praising staff in particular for their devotion to “developing children’s skills in expressive arts and design” as well as their learning of words and numbers.
The key teachers are all female – there is a French teacher, a sports teacher and a music teacher. According to Wilson, the staff are likely to be a carefully considered blend of experienced older teachers and well-brought-up young girls, like Princess Diana.
At Willcocks, Charlotte will form her first independent friendships, learn how to get dressed by herself, fasten her shoes and hold a pencil. Her timetable will include a weekly cooking class, educational and nature classes, singing and activities such as poetry or jigsaws. “The aim will be to encourage children to come out of themselves,” says Wilson. “The group sizes are small, and every child gets individual attention.”
Good manners are also a huge focus. Willcocks pupils were recently praised by Ofsted for being “exceptionally well behaved” and showing a “clear understanding of expectations of their behaviour.” Charlotte will be expected to look her teacher in the eye and shake her hand when she arrives, and again when she leaves. She will be reminded to say “please” and “thank you” and will have to help to tidy up. “We used to teach children to curtesy but we don’t expect them to do that now,” Wilson says.
By the time Charlotte graduates to pre-prep school, she will be writing her own name, going to the lavatory unaided and helping herself to a glass of water when she’s thirsty. She will also, if she’s anything like my children who are at a similar London nursery, have reduced her mother to a sobbing heap in nativity plays and musicals that seem far too ambitious for a three-year-old. “At a good nursery, every child gets their moment in the sun,” Wilson explains.
The question is, will Charlotte emerge from her smart London pre-school ahead of her peers? Her brother attended a laid-back rural Montessori in Norfolk, which cost just £33 per day. Probably not, concedes Wilson, who, as Miss Vicky at Young England, prepared countless threeand four-year-olds for assessments to London’s most competitive prepreps. “In London, there is so much agitation among parents about whether children are going to get into where they want them to go,” she says. “But I definitely wouldn’t say that if you went to a different kind of nursery you’d be hampered.”
If the Cambridges decide to send Princess Charlotte to Thomas’s Battersea with her brother, she will almost certainly get in, as there is a sibling policy, but if she’s to take an assessment to another school a good headmistress such as Miss Lavinia will know what will be expected of her. “She is vastly experienced and sends her charges on to all the best preps in London,” says Rose.
Arguably, however, it’s the parents, not the children or the teachers, who set elite London nurseries apart from the rest. The Willcocks set are, by the sound of it, a flashy crowd. Tatler Schools Guide describes them as “a mix of old English families and chic foreigners”, while one former parent complained she was the only mum among nannies at pickup. “In my day, it was because they were in bed but nowadays it’s because they’re all working so hard,” says Wilson.
With London parents so busy – and inclined to be cliquey – the fact that Willcocks has an active parents association is a huge positive and I am sure Prince William will quickly be invited to the father’s breakfast club. “This would have been unheard of in my day, but it’s a really good idea – it’s so difficult for fathers to meet otherwise,” Wilson says.
For the first few days, Kate will be required to “stay and play” to help Charlotte settle in, and when she eventually leaves her there she will be required to stay in the vicinity so she can return if needed. “Being a second child, Charlotte will probably accept being left and her mother will know not to prolong the agony,” Wilson says.
Under no circumstances, however, should Kate try to sneak away unnoticed. It’s better to be honest about the fact you’re going for a cup of coffee and will be back very soon. And she must try not to blub, however hard Charlotte is clinging on to her skirt. As Wilson says: “Crying is incredibly catching.”