Prince George and Princess Charlotte attended Thomas's Battersea before their parents moved them to a new school in August this year. Photo / Getty Images
Prince George and Princess Charlotte attended Thomas's Battersea before their parents moved them to a new school in August this year. Photo / Getty Images
A teacher at Prince George and Princess Charlotte’s former primary school Thomas’s Battersea has pleaded guilty to child exploitation offences.
The Daily Mail reports that the school’s deputy head of pastoral, Matthew Smith, 34, appeared in Westminster Magistrates Court in London on charges of making and distributing indecent images of children.
The charges do not relate to students at the school.
The school was made aware on November 7 that the newly hired Smith, who started working at Thomas’s in September, was being investigated by Britain’s National Crime Agency.
Prince George and Princess Charlotte were students at the school until this year, when they moved to Lambrook School near Ascot.
The school told parents in an email seen by MailOnline that Smith’s role had been immediately terminated.
Smith, from South London, pleaded guilty to distributing the images and to inciting the sexual exploitation of children. He will be sentenced on a later date at Southwark Crown Court.
The school’s principals Tobyn Thomas and Ben Thomas told parents that they “do not for a minute underestimate the shocking and deeply concerning nature of this news”.
“Our focus right now is on our pupils, parents and colleagues.”
They added that while pupils would be informed of Smith’s departure, the school does not intend to “elaborate further” on the reasons.
“We will need to work together to respond to children’s questions in an age-appropriate way,” they said.
Prince George started school at Thomas's Battersea in 2017, while his younger sister Princess Charlotte started two years later. Photo / Getty Images
Before his role at Thomas’s Battersea, Smith was the assistant head teacher at the British School in Kathmandu, Nepal, for five years. He also previously taught at St Paul’s School and holds Oxford and Cambridge degrees.
A source told MailOnline that not many of the students’ parents had met him, as he was only employed in September.
Kensington Palace announced in August Prince William and Princess Kate had decided to move their children to another school.
“Their Royal Highnesses are hugely grateful to Thomas’s Battersea where George and Charlotte have had a happy start to their education since 2017 and 2019 respectively and are pleased to have found a school for all three of their children, which shares a similar ethos and values to Thomas’s,” it read.
They reportedly made the move to give their children “as normal a family life as possible” and bring them up away from the busyness of London.
Thomas’s Battersea is known as a highly prestigious school and is reported to have a waiting list from birth - however, a spot on the list is not a guarantee a child will get in.
It offers specialised programmes from ballet and drama to music, art and languages, with school clubs such as a Lego club and pottery club.
