King Charles III writes to Hartlepool pupils at Rossmere Academy

Pupils at Rossmere Academy, in Catcote Road, Hartlepool, wrote letters to King Charles III to offer their condolences after the Queen’s death in September.

The school has now received a personalised letter from Buckingham Palace.

In it, the new monarch writes: “It was so very kind of you to send me such a wonderfully generous message following the death of my beloved mother.

"Your most thoughtful words are enormously comforting and I cannot tell you how deeply they are appreciated at this time of immense sorrow.”

Sara Booth-Kilby, who is key stage one team leader and writing lead at the primary school, said: “The children were over the moon. It shows their letters were actually read.”

Mrs Booth-Kilby originally got her pupils to write the letters as a writing exercise.

She said: "It’s a great opportunity to teach them about letter writing, rather than everything just being online.”

She added: “I was also interested to see whether he would reply.”

Rossmere Academy regularly marks defining moments in the Royal Family’s history, giving pupils the opportunity to learn more about their country and its history.

During the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee, pupils came to school wearing red, white and blue and enjoyed afternoon tea outside in the sunshine.

They also took part in a scavenger hunt and sang songs to commemorate the Queen’s 70-year reign.

To mark the occasion, Mrs Booth-Kilby’s year two class wrote letters to the Queen to congratulate her on reaching her Platinum Jubilee and for all of her hard work as monarch.

Pupils received a reply from the Queen Consort which said: "The Queen was glad to hear from you and, although unable to reply to you personally, her Majesty greatly appreciated the nice things you said.”

Rossmere Academy is honoured to have received a personal letter from the King this time and hopes to receive another in the future.

Mrs Booth-Kilby said: “This is a big deal, especially for our year two pupils.”