Making a best friend is one of the best things about school and with a bit of luck, the kid you play mummys and daddys with on your first day could well end up being a lifelong pal.
However, Prince George’s £17,000 a year school takes a much different approach to friendships and it looks like the little prince won’t be bringing a new ‘bestie’ back to the palace any time soon.
South West London prep school Thomas’s Battersea apparently discourages the idea of ‘best friends’, instead focusing on making sure every child feels included.
Loose Women host Jane Moore, recently offered her insight into the school’s ethos, having had friends who educated their children there:
There’s a policy that if your child is having a party – unless every child is invited – you don’t give out the invites in class, which I think is quite a good thing as you don’t feel excluded.
There are signs everywhere saying ‘be kind’ – that’s the ethos of the school.
They don’t encourage you to have best friends.
You can watch the Loose Women discussion below:
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Although the best friend policy may sound a little unusual, this means George will have a whole class full of best friends rather than just one or two (who could very well end up ditching him after a heated game of stuck-in-the-mud gone wrong).
Starting school is nerve-wracking for everyone, even when you’re royalty and judging by the timid look on George’s face, he’s all of us on our first day.
Hopefully, this policy will help ensure George never has to feel left out or lonely during playtime like many shy kids.
Most importantly of all, George will never know the complete devastation of having been callously crossed off somebody’s party list…
Jules studied English Literature with Creative Writing at Lancaster University before earning her masters in International Relations at Leiden University in The Netherlands (Hoi!). She then trained as a journalist through News Associates in Manchester. Jules has previously worked as a mental health blogger, copywriter and freelancer for various publications.