The Duchess of Cambridge's school teachers have revealed what Kate was really like at school, after their emotional reunion with the royal during her visit to South Wales on Tuesday. Kate, now 38, attended St Andrew's prep school in Pangbourne, Berkshire, along with her siblings Pippa and James Middleton, until she was 14. Denise Evans-Allford was the Duchess' PE teacher, while Kevin Allford taught her French and German.
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Mr Allford told the Press Association that Kate was a "hard worker and very conscientious." He added: "Obviously she was the same in sport. She was a tremendous athlete and swimmer. I used to be in charge of swimming and she was very, very good, as her sister was."
The couple drove from their home in Carmarthen to the Mumbles to catch a glimpse of Prince William and Kate. They waited outside Joe's Ice Cream Parlour and wrote a note in the hope that it could be passed to the Duchess so she could contact them in future.
© Photo: PAWilliam and Kate at Joe's Ice Cream Parlour
Mr Allford said: "The security officer very kindly took that back into the ice cream place and then somebody came to find us. She said, 'Follow me' and she put us right next to the doorway. We really want to thank that security officer."
At the end of Kate's visit to the ice cream parlour, where she'd discussed her early childhood survey with parents and children, she came out to greet her former teachers, telling them: "It's such a small world." The Duchess, who had not seen her tutors for 20 years, added: "I want to instil in my children what I learned at St Andrews."
Mr Allford said: "We didn't know what to expect when she came out, we didn't want to break protocol. We wouldn't feel right curtsying or shaking hands. We didn't have to do anything in the end because she instigated a hug right away.
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© Photo: Getty ImagesKate's former teachers described her as a hard-worker
"She has obviously changed physically since we last saw her, she has grown about a foot but in terms of personality and the way she is, she hasn't changed at all. It was a great occasion for us, it was a very emotional reunion.
"After she left us, she got in the car next to William and said, 'They're my former prep school tutors', and he said, 'Oh, wow' and made a special effort to wave at us."
It was a packed day of engagements for the Cambridges as they visited the RNLI Mumbles Lifeboat station and then travelled to Port Talbot to visit Tata Steel, the UK's largest steel plant and Bulldogs Development Centre to learn how boxing is helping to support young people in the community.
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