Royal visit: Kate and Wills' rendezvous a bonus for school

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge stopped by Tamahere yesterday.

The tiny Waikato town of Tamahere has been through some tough times since a fiery coolstore explosion killed a firefighter and injured seven others.

If April 5, 2008, was the worst day in the town's history, then yesterday was, perhaps, the best.

In a surprise kept secret from the media, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge made a private visit to the 400-pupil Tamahere Model Country School.

Travelling from Hamilton in separate cars, they met up at the school - to the delight of the pupils and their families - before heading to Cambridge together.

On Friday, the kids had been handed a letter from principal Waveney Parker as they left school, telling them about the visit slotted for lunchtime the next day.

They and their families were asked to keep quiet about it.

Prince William would arrive first, Parker said, but would not get out of the car.

But when he arrived at 12.30pm, the sight of the kids singing a moving rendition of a traditional Maori song persuaded him to get out.

"We had a frantic rehearsal earlier and it obviously worked," Parker said. "The children were delighted when Kate arrived a little bit later and she and William talked to members of the crowd for a few minutes before leaving."

Police told Parker several weeks ago about the royal rendezvous but asked her not to tell staff until the last minute.

During the walkabout, the Prince high-fived a little girl who handed him a copy of a children's picture book about Matariki as a present for Prince George.

"It was all over very quickly," Parker said, "but everyone who was there will be talking about it for years."