乔治小王子即将入读小学,看来要学中国数学了
With Prince George about to start ‘big’ school in just a fortnight, his new school has been described as ‘competitive, oversubscribed’ and for ‘cosmopolitan parents who want their children to have the best English education money can buy’. The third in line to the throne, who turned four in July, will be one of the youngest pupils in his class at Thomas's, a private £19,884-a-year school in Battersea, an affluent middle class area of south west London. According to the newly updated review by the Good Schools Guide, Thomas's, a family-owned school, is so popular that parents are encouraged to register their child at birth, although that is something that clearly didn’t happen in the little prince’s case. The school even has a criteria of what they look for in a child, namely ones with: ‘a measure of confidence, are responsive, sociable, with a light in their eyes’. The school has its own fleet of buses to ferry them for sports – which includes sculling - and boasts its own science labs, computer suites, music centre teaching everything from the cornet to the piano, and two pottery rooms. Latin is compulsory from Year 5 and younger children, like George in reception, have access to a ‘fantastic’ rooftop playground. In choosing Thomas's, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, have shunned ‘traditional’ royal feeder schools, such as Whetherby, attended by both William and Harry. Thomas’s prides itself on a ‘rounded education’, with as much emphasis on its motto Be Kind, as on academic results – although many of its students go onto good public schools such as Eton. In a letter to parents, the school's principles, Ben Thomas and Tobyn Thomas (sons of the school's founders), said they were ‘delighted’ at William and Kate’s decision. ‘The Duke and Duchess have made it clear that they do not wish Prince George's attendance at Thomas's to change its aims, values or ethos in any way. 'They would like, as far as is possible, for him to enjoy the same education that all of our pupils receive and for them to join the school community as all of our parents do.' Princess Charlotte, two, will also start nursery school in London in the next few months. As Thomas's has its own kindergarten department, it is widely expected that she will follow in George's footsteps. |