News
The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall celebrate the 10th anniversary of Teach First
22nd February 2012
It was back to the classroom for The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall today as they visited a school to mark the 10th anniversary of an innovative teacher training scheme.
Their Royal Highnesses sat in on lessons at Uxbridge High School in north west London, with The Duchess listening to some of the younger pupils reading and her husband talking to a maths class.
The Prince and The Duchess were greeted by crowds of screaming youngsters waving
flags before they paid a visit to the school library to meet teachers who have taken part in the Teach First scheme, which sees top graduates joining struggling schools.
His Royal Highness, patron of Teach First, and The Duchess looked delighted by the
parade of drummers, who played the Indian dhol drums as they left the library. They walked behind the musicians, who carried on playing as they walked along the lines of pupils, pausing to stop to several of them along the way.
The Duchess told the drummers: "Thank you so much for the drumming."
Head boy Jake Lamport, 18, who accompanied the special guests, said: "Camilla was really interested by the drums, and was asking about the sticks that the drummers used.
"She loved talking to the children. I was so nervous before meeting them, but they are so down-to-earth."
Once inside the school building, The Duchess sat down on a round table to listen to a group of 11 to 13-year-olds practising their reading.
The Duchess told the children: "I think you've done really well. Because it's quite frightening, isn't it? Very, very well done."
Pointing out the television cameras trained on them, she added: "It's difficult to do it in front of the television. It's obvious you've got a good person teaching you."
Tushane Peart, 13, said of The Duchess: "She just talked about how I like reading books, and said that I should carry on reading. She was really kind and warm-hearted."
Meanwhile, The Prince sat in a maths class, listening to the algebra lesson after telling the pupils: "It's very kind of you to let me interrupt."
The results of pupils Uxbridge High School, one of the first to join forces with Teach First, have improved dramatically.
The school has recruited 31 participants to the scheme in the past 10 years, in which time they have seen the number of pupils achieving five GCSEs at grade C and above double.
During the visit, the couple also sat in on a special assembly where pupils' talents were showcased.
Seated in the front row, The Prince and Duchess looked intrigued by a sneak preview of the school play, a modern interpretation of Romeo and Juliet. The school's version sees events unfold between rival gangs at the time of the London riots last summer.
They warmly applauded the young actors, and appeared to be discussing the performance as it ended.
Daniel Pitts, 11, read a poem he had written especially for the occasion and Year Eight pupil Daniel Harris, played the guests in with a piano piece he composed himself called Royal Rhythm.
Unveiling a plaque to commemorate the event, The Prince told the pupils, teachers and members of Teach First: "Ladies and gentlemen, having successfully ruined the productivity levels of this school, I'd just like to say what an enormous pleasure it has been to visit this
remarkable school.
"I can't thank the head teacher enough for making all the arrangements and allowing us to see all of the work, not only of the Teach First teachers but also many of the children here.
"What I can't believe is that it's 10 years since this whole enterprise started."
Commenting on the fact there are now 6,000 graduate applicants every year for 1,000 Teach First places, The Prince added: "It shows what an enormous movement this has become. To see it making a difference to children's lives is an enormous encouragement.
"It is an investment in the future."
Head teacher Peter Lang said he had "really nice" feedback from the couple. He added: "We have used this occasion as a way of celebrating everything in the school. We have had lots of young people involved.
"We want to give young people that confidence because we want this to be as good as any school in the country.
"The Prince and The Duchess were very impressed with the school. They were delighted to see what we're doing."