Hockey and high-heels for Kate's royal visit

Daily Mail

1 Dec, 2012 12:14 AM2 mins to read

Kate, the Duchess of Cambridge, centre, plays hockey during her visit to St. Andrew's School. Photo / AP

It's not quite the requisite footwear for a game of hockey.

But it would take more than a pair of high-heeled boots to come between this particular former captain and the Astroturf.

The Duchess of Cambridge seemed delighted to be back on the pitch at her old prep school, St Andrew's, yesterday - even if she had forgotten her kit.

Kate visited the £16,950-a-year school near Pangbourne, Berkshire as part of their annual St Andrew's Day celebrations, wearing an Alexander McQueen Black Watch tartan coat dress in honour of the occasion.

Now 30, Kate was a star pupil at the school, which she attended from four to 13. She excelled not only at hockey but also at rounders, netball, swimming, music and athletics, setting a 1.5m record in the high jump that remains unbeaten.

During her two-hour visit, Kate officially opened the school's new Astroturf and happily reminisced about everything from midnight feasts to the trees she used to climb.

She described her eight years at the school as some of the happiest of her life - and even revealed a hitherto unknown nickname, Squeak.

It appears that St Andrew's had two guinea pigs called Pip and Squeak, and when Pip(pa) and Kate started at St. Andrews, they soon acquired the nicknames for no reason other than names fitted.

Kate was even treated to her favourite school lunch - Scottish roast beef and 'birdseed', a mixture of flapjack and Rice Krispie cake - after staff asked St James's Palace what she would like to eat. Recalling her time at the school, Kate said: 'It is such a treat to be back here at St Andrew's. I absolutely loved my time here; they were some of my happiest years, which makes it so incredibly special to be here today.

'In fact, I enjoyed it so much that when I had to leave, I told my mother that I was going to come back to be a teacher.