The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge's eldest children Prince George, six, and Princess Charlotte, four, will now be home-schooled amid the coronavirus pandemic, HELLO! can confirm. The royal youngsters currently attend Thomas's school in Battersea, west London, which is a short drive from the family's London residence, Apartment 1A at Kensington Palace.
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A spokesperson for Thomas's London Day Schools said: "Due to the increasing number of children and staff absent from school because of the coronavirus pandemic, Thomas’s London Day Schools have decided to move to remote learning from Friday 20 March.
"From this date the curriculum will be taught through online learning platforms and we have asked parents to keep their children at home and to access their lessons through this system. This will ensure that children have continuity of learning when they are unable to attend school. In cases where families are not in a position to keep their children at home (those who are ‘front line staff’ in the medical profession, for example), the school will remain physically open until the last day of term, Thursday 26 March. We appreciate the support of our school community as we continue to provide the best possible solution for our pupils during these challenging times."
The Cambridges on Princess Charlotte's first day at school
Prince George is in Year 2 while Princess Charlotte started in Reception at the £18,915-a-year school in September, when Prince William and Kate dropped her off on her first day. Before joining her big brother at Thomas's, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge's daughter attended Willcocks Nursery School in South Kensington. Prince Louis, who turns two in April, still has a little while to wait before he starts nursery.
MORE: Inside Prince William and Kate Middleton's house at Kensington Palace
Thomas's, Battersea school in west London
The curriculum at Thomas's is broad and as well as the core subjects, Charlotte has been learning French, Computing, Art, Music, Drama and Ballet, taught by specialist teachers. Meanwhile, George's subjects in Year 2 include Literacy, Numeracy, Science, Topic (History and Geography), RS, French, PSHCE, Art, Computing, Music, Swimming, Ballet, PE and Games.
The news about the young royals comes as their great-grandmother, the Queen, prepares to start her Easter break one week earlier than planned. Her Majesty, 93, will retreat to Windsor Castle on Thursday 19 March and is likely to stay there beyond the Easter break. Buckingham Palace said that changes to the Queen's diary were being made as a "sensible precaution" amid the coronavirus outbreak.
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