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Prince William visits a school in Christchurch, New Zealand

6th July 2005

Prince William made an impromptu visit to Christchurch Boy’s High School in New Zealand after he was forced to cancel a trip to another school due to bad weather.

The Prince had to cancel a trip to Arrowtown Primary School near Queenstown because his flight had to turn back due to poor visibility.

But instead, Prince William visited the boys school in Christchurch where he was treated to a haka, joined in a volleyball game and watched some budding actors take to the stage.

When he arrived, pupils presented him with a blue and black school scarf, which he wore around his neck for the rest of the visit.

Around 25 students, dressed in school uniform, performed a haka for The Prince outside the comprehensive’s main building.

Michael Tuck, 17, said afterwards: “William told us he was really impressed. He was blown away.

“He said he knew how the Lions and Brian O'Driscoll felt when they were watching the All Blacks' haka.”

The Prince also watched a drama class perform scenes from Lord of the Flies and told teacher Liz Gormack that he had not really enjoyed his acting experiences at school.

“I used to have nightmares about it and wake up in a sweat,” he said.

William also joined schoolchildren in an impromptu game of volleyball.

The Prince, who played in a water polo team at St Andrews University, jumped around with his hands in the air, hitting the ball back over to his 15-year-old opponents, once scoring a point with a reverse dig.

William, who yesterday said he was “absolutely delighted” London had won the bid to stage the 2012 Olympics, shouted “excellent” and laughed, saying: “It's all falling to pieces” during his five-minute stint on the court.

Fellow team member Sam Greenwood, 15, said after playing with the Prince in the gym: “He did some serves, diggers and spikes. It was a bit of an honour.”

George Hampton, 15, added: “I was surprised he joined in. He's good - he's got potential.”