The day after her 36th birthday, the Duchess of Cambridge carried out her first engagement of 2018. Kate visited the Reach Academy Feltham, a school working in partnership with Place2Be and other organisations to support children, families and the whole school community throughout their school career.


Kate celebrated her birthday with family and friends at Anmer Hall over the weekend before returning to London ahead of Princess Charlotte's first day at nursery on Monday. Prince George returned to Thomas's Battersea yesterday. On the royal front, it's shaping up to be an interesting month with a day of engagements in Coventry, a visit to Great Ormond Street Hospital and the Wimbledon Junior Tennis Initiative scheduled for next week. William and Kate will also kick off their trip to Norway and Sweden at the end of January.


You'll notice in the photo above, Kate was accompanied by Royal Protection Officer Emma Probert. Emma has been with Kate since the very start, perhaps most notably when she sat in the front seat of the Rolls Royce which drove Kate and Michael Middleton from the Goring Hotel to Westminster Abbey for the royal wedding. The sergeant has suffered great personal tragedy and joy in her time protecting the royals. In 2009, her policeman husband died in a skiing accident while on holiday in the French Alps with his wife. Emma found love again with fellow royal protection officer Colin Childs and in 2012 she informed Kate she was expecting a baby. The Duchess was said to be "absolutely delighted" and joked "you beat me to it". Below, we see Emma beside Kate during a pre-wedding engagement in 2011. If I'm not mistaken, we haven't seen Emma with the Duchess in quite a while.


A very warm welcome from pupils.


More from The Telegraph:

'The Duchess arrived at the school at 11.30am to be greeted by schildren singing Nina Simone classic I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel To Be Free.
She told them: �Very impressed with the singing. �I wish every morning could start off like that.�

An arrival video from Hello!


Ahead of the engagement Kensington Palace noted: "The Duchess of Cambridge has been patron of Place2Be since 2013, reflecting her interest in children's mental health and the importance of supporting children and families to give children the best possible start in life." Place2Be is one of the Heads Together charity partners. As the campaign progresses, I understand Kate will be focusing on early intervention.


The organisation is a leading UK children's mental health charity providing in-school support and expert training to improve the emotional wellbeing of pupils, families, teachers and school staff. The charity works directly with more than 282 primary and secondary schools across England, Scotland and Wales.


Reach Academy opened in September 2012, and now serves pupils from Nursery through to year 12 in Secondary. It was founded on a belief that all young people, regardless of background, can achieve great things. The school's goal is to provide all pupils with the opportunity to go to university if they wish and to live happy, healthy and productive lives. It has created a community of pupils, parents and teachers united by the highest expectations of what every young person can achieve, and by the commitment to help young people to excel. The school is small, with only sixty pupils in each year, which means that every adult knows every pupil and their family, and deeply understand its pupils� needs. Reach Academy is deeply committed to working with parents and believes that communication between home and school is vital, and has worked with organisations including Place2Be and Family Links to ensure families benefit from a range of support.


Kate removed her coat for a visit to the nursery. Charlotte was likely on Kate's mind during the visit; the Princess attended her third day of nursery today.


The Duchess saw the early years provision in the nursery and met parents who have benefited from the school's parenting support.


Kate was in her element with the children.


Time for arts and crafts.


Laura shared this video of Kate in deep conversation with schoolboy Max about dinosaurs :)


Kate took a brief tour of the school before joining a discussion with Place2Be staff.


Kate was delighted to meet four month old puppy Bear who is training to be a therapy dog.


Royal reporter Victoria Murphy shared this very sweet video.


Kate also met guinea pigs, chickens and watched the children planting. She appeared to have a lovely time interacting with the children.


Back inside, the Duchess chatted with a group of secondary school pupils from the Academy about the range of support on offer at their school, including emotional wellbeing support, LGBT groups and a girls' group.


Kate asked the group of teenagers �Do you feel that social media puts a lot of pressure on young people?� After hearing several stories she replied �From what we�ve been learning from the work we�ve been doing it can get so addictive.�


Before leaving, Kate received this lovely birthday card.


Kate sported the Hobbs London Gianna Coat today (with thanks to Marianna).


The sold out piece is described this way: "Taking inspiration from the traditional riding coat, the Gianna is a modern classic. Made in beautiful French navy wool, it is beautifully tailored and has a dramatic femininity achieved by the flared skirt and black detailing. The curved collar and pewter buttons add an extra equestrian touch." The piece originally retailed for $570 before going on sale for $174 at Nordstrom Rack.

Hobbs London

The Duchess wore her Seraphine Florrie Dress. Kate debuted the piece in 2015 when she was expecting Charlotte during a visit to Stoke-on-Trent.


It is described as "Made in soft woven fabric, this elegant dress drapes beautifully to finish just above the knee, allowing plenty of movement and a flexible fit for before, during and after pregnancy. Featuring a feminine curved empire line to define your waist" It remains available on the Seraphine website.

Seraphine

Kate teamed the look with her navy Jimmy Choo Georgia pumps.

Jimmy Choo

Kate accessorised with her sapphire and diamond earrings.


And her Cartier Ballon Bleu watch.


Kate's navy Stuart Weitzman Muse clutch and navy gloves completed the look.


A lovely start to 2018 for Kate!

***********

Finally, I do so enjoy seeing Kate team up with other members of the Royal family. On Monday, 19 February, Kate and Sophie, will join forces for the Commonwealth Fashion Exchange at Buckingham Palace. It sounds like it's going to be a fantastic evening celebrating talented designers. With many thanks to Cheryl!


We'll be continuing on with our polls next :)