IT WAS a royal occasion for two Gwent schools as their pupils were chosen to attend a prestigious ceremony.

Pupils and staff from Llanfoist Fawr Primary school in Monmouthshire and Willowtown Primary School in Ebbw Vale were two of the schools who were chosen to attend the first National Prince William Award graduation event, alongside HRH The Duke of Cambridge.

The event, to celebrate the success of the character education award in Prince William’s name, was hosted by David Walliams OBE, who also took time to talk to the children and even take a few selfies.

Delivered by the Nottingham based charity SkillForce, the Prince William Award aims to help children and young people, aged six to 14, develop vital life skills including confidence, resilience and self-belief.

David Walliams announced that head teacher Jon Murphy won the Outstanding Contribution to The Prince William Award.

He was accompanied to the stage by pupils representing the school and Year 2 teacher Mrs Cheryl Evans, Mr Murphy was presented the award by Prince William and the Chief Executive of SkillForce, Mr Ben Slade.

Mr Murphy said: “This was a totally unexpected accolade for the school and a real honour to be personally presented the Outstanding Contribution to Prince William Award by the Duke of Cambridge. This for me has been a career highlight.”

YEAR 3 at Willowtown Primary School completed the 36 week programme, which is taught by predominantly former armed forces personnel, through a range of practical and classroom based activities and includes regular reflection on what pupils are learning and how their character is developing.

More than 150 children attended the event and The Duke of Cambridge took time to talk with many pupils and schools.

Launched in 2017 The Prince William Award already runs in over 200 schools across the UK and has been delivered to 7,500 pupils.