THE Prince George effect is one of the reasons that headteacher Amy Bekker Wrench thinks Chirton Primary has more than doubled in size in two years.

Last year just four children joined the reception class of the village school, which in 2012 was so small it was threatened with closure. Last month there were 14 new reception children.

Now there are 45 youngsters in total on the roll and Mrs Bekker Wrench is hopeful the school will get an extension or even a totally new building.

She said the school’s federation with All Cannings had made a big difference and word of mouth about its progress had meant most villagers were now making it their top choice.

But she said a huge amount of publicity back in the spring, when the school wrote to Prince William and Kate after the birth of Prince George, had also helped to put it on the map.

The school was shocked when it received a letter back to say how impressed they were with their letters trying to persuade them to enrol Prince George there as a pupil.

Eleven children, aged from seven to 11, took part in the topic on persuasive writing.

Their letters extolled the benefits of the school, which at one point had just 19 pupils. Each pupil received a personal reply to their letter, plus a photo of William, Kate and George.

Mrs Bekker Wrench, who is the school’s associate head, said: “The story got a lot of publicity and certainly got people talking about us which is a good thing.”

She said the school governors were in discussion with Wiltshire Council about how it can expand.

She said: “We are very lucky as we have a big school field so there would be room for a new school to be built while the old one is still in existence. It would really be a dream come true.”

She said Chirton was also a Forest School, which meant that children spent time each week in a forest area that was used as an outdoor classroom.