The chain of private schools which educate Prince George and Princess Charlotte have introduced joint arts workshops between its pupils and children at its state-run, partner school Thomas’s Academy, The Times has reported.
Thomas’s is a group of four private preparatory schools located in Battersea, Clapham, Fulham and Kensington, with a kindergarten in Battersea. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s children attend Thomas’s Battersea.
Ben Thomas, principal of Thomas’s, said the funding per pupil at its state partner school was a quarter of that at the group’s private schools.
If you look at the skills employers are looking for — collaboration, creativity, communication, critical thinking — they are developed by the co-curricular subjects: art, sport, drama, dance
The workshops are currently being rolled out at one of its four schools, with a “distinct possibility” they will be introduced in the other schools.
Thomas said: “There are huge benefits of getting children rubbing shoulders with each other.
“If you look at the skills employers are looking for — collaboration, creativity, communication, critical thinking — they are developed by the co-curricular subjects: art, sport, drama, dance.
“If you cut back on these subjects, these skills are very hard to acquire. The academy is brilliant at literacy and numeracy but it is very hard to bring in the richness of the co-curricular subjects.”
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