The Duchess of Cambridge and US First Lady visit Cornwall school

Pupils at a school in Cornwall got a very special visit from The Duchess of Cambridge and the US First Lady today (11th June).

Catherine and Jill Biden met at Connor Downs Academy near Hayle to highlight the issue of the early years development of children.

During their visit they toured the school and held a roundtable discussion on early education.

Both women share a passion for improving early years development and displayed their own informal transatlantic alliance on education during the visit.

The duchess told Mrs Biden: “I’m committed to this for a long time. I hope our two countries can continue on this and share data.”

The pair first visited the school’s reception class of four and five-year-olds led by the school’s early years specialist David Masters.

The two women heard how the academy’s pupils are supported through a bespoke early years foundation stage designed to help them develop as independent, confident and successful learners.

A US journalist asked how important the first five years of a child’s life were. “Very important. It’s the foundation of everything,” Mrs Biden replied.

“This is amazing to see what these children are doing and how far advanced they are at four and five years old.”

Pupils at the school are also taught to value animal welfare and go out every morning to look after a collection of rabbits and rescued battery hens in the grounds.

Kate and Mrs Biden were taken to see the rabbits – Storm, Wampa and Cindy – and the first lady went armed with a bowl of large carrots and stood alongside Kate, chatting over a gate to Mr Masters and four pupils with Storm.

The duchess and Mrs Biden then led a round-table discussion with a number of representatives from the early years sector who have helped influence Kate’s efforts to create a national conversation that gives every child in Britain a better start.

They were joined in the room by experts in developmental neuroscience, education and early years from the UK and US via a video call.

The duchess explained how her research into the long-term effects of addiction and family breakdown had convinced her to devote much of the rest of her royal career towards boosting the life chances of many children by improving their first five years.

She said: “Ultimately, my hope is we change the way we think about early childhood with the generations to come, and I am committed to this for the long term.”

The Duchess of Cambridge was also quizzed about the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s daughter Lilibet while she was there.

A broadcast journalist from the American network NBC asked Kate: “Your Royal Highness do you have any wishes for your niece Lilibet?”

The duchess replied: “I wish her all the very best. I can’t wait to meet her.”

She was also asked if she had spoken with Meghan via FaceTime. She replied “No I haven’t.”

Kate also said: “We haven’t met her yet. I hope that will be soon.”

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