The Earl and Countess of Wessex on Shell Beach with Herm’s tenants, John and Julia Singer. (Picture by Adrian Miller, 0801242)

IT HAS been a hectic week for the Herm schoolchildren, involving gardeners, pirates and princes.

The highlight of their week was undoubtedly the visit from Prince Edward and the Countess of Wessex.

Earlier they had been shown pictures so that they knew what the couple looked like and wouldn’t expect velvet robes and crowns. Still, the tension in the little schoolroom was palpable as they awaited their royal visitors.

All the children had been taught by teacher Mary Carey how to address the Earl and Countess and had practised their bows and curtseys.

As all the island children tend to be confident and talkative with visitors, we were all interested to see which of them would come up with the biggest faux-pas, but all brought out their best manners and behaved beautifully.

The Countess was presented with a little bouquet and the Earl was given a copy of the school calendar, which features pictures of the children re-enacting the history of the island. Who knows, perhaps it will someday end up on the wall of Bagshot Park?

The day before had seen the Floral Guernsey judging, a big part of which involved the school garden.

‘The island sells itself,’ said head gardener Brett Moore. ‘And the children do the rest. They are always brilliant.’

A week before the holidays, they are now harvesting their carrots and potatoes to take home.

The school fete, which raises money for school funds for throughout the year, took place on a very hot Saturday down by the harbour.

Thanks to generous prize donations from all the Herm departments and many Guernsey companies, a total of £850 was raised for the school.

This year’s school concert was in two parts. The first, Invaders and Settlers of Herm, was ‘a whistle-stop tour of the history of Herm Island’. From early Mesolithic hunter-gatherers right up until the present day, the children retold the island’s varied and colourful history, complete with smugglers, life-size beavers, pagan worship and comedy moustaches.

The second half, inspired by a 16th-century description of Herm as an island of ‘thieves, banditti, picaroons, robbers, ruffians and murderers’, was a retelling of Treasure Island.

As always, the children were accompanied by Christine Anthony, who had coached them to perfection through several songs in just two weeks.

This year’s joint winners of the Peter Wood trophy for progress and endeavour throughout the school year were eight-year-old Maya George and Taigh Watson, nine, both popular students. Taigh will be leaving the Herm school this summer to attend Beechwood and will be greatly missed by his Herm friends.