Prince George and Princess Charlotte go back to school: See the adorable photos
Prince George and Princess Charlotte are back in school and, for the first time, are attending the same one.
This school year is the third at Thomas's Battersea for Prince George, 6, the eldest child of Prince William and Kate, the Duchess of Cambridge.
Princess Charlotte, 4, is starting her first year at the private school, located just a few miles from the family's home at Kensington Palace.
George and Charlotte were accompanied to school by their parents, Prince William and Kate. They were met at Thomas's Battersea by Helen Haslem, head of the lower school.
William and Kate also shared a photo of a smiling George and Charlotte taken at Kensington Palace before the siblings left for their first day of school together.
George and Charlotte are known to their classmates not by their royal titles, but as George Cambridge and Charlotte Cambridge.
Thomas's Battersea's most important rule is "be kind," the school notes on its website.
In addition to normal school subjects like math, science and reading, George, and Charlotte and their classmates also take on everything from computer programming and religious studies to French, poetry and ballet.
"We are proud of our creative curriculum and the children quickly become immersed in their topics and engage in all learning experiences presented to them," Halsem, says in a letter shared online. "Progress is carefully monitored and supported by the form teacher, the teaching assistant and specialist teachers."
Halsem was on hand when George attended his first day of school in 2017, holding his hand as he walked into the school alongside Prince William.
George is in now in year two of the Lower School, when students are expected to become "leaders," according to Halsem.
"By Year 2, the children become the Leaders of the Lower School. This increasing independence and maturity helps them to prepare for a smooth transition to the Middle School," she explains on the school's website.
William and Kate, also the parents of 1-year-old Prince Louis, chose a school that describes itself as prioritizing social responsibility as much as academic achievement.
"Whilst we are proud of our record of senior school entrance and scholarship successes, we place a greater emphasis on a set of core values, which include kindness, courtesy, confidence, humility and learning to be givers, not takers," the school's headmaster says in a welcome letter on the website. "We hope that our pupils will leave this school with a strong sense of social responsibility, set on a path to become net contributors to society and to flourish as conscientious and caring citizens of the world."
Thomas's Battersea requires its approximately 560 students to wear uniforms, including to ballet.
George and Charlotte can look forward to field trips in their futures, too, as students "enjoy regular day trips to London’s art galleries, theaters, parks, museums and historic locations," according to the school's website.
