Duchess of Cambridge given 'Miss Catherine' apron by Oxford school children

The Duchess, who studied history of art at university, chose The Art Room as one of the first four charities to which she has given her patronage, as she is a firm believer in the power of art to help build self-esteem.

The charity helps to fund art teachers who give children intensive sessions in a specially-designated part of each school, where they create objects they can take home and keep.

Juli Beattie, the founder and director of The Art Room, said the charity had been “absolutely overwhelmed” by the Duchess’s decision to support what Ms Beattie described as “one of the smallest charities in the country”.

She said: “The Duchess is a highly-intelligent young woman who wants to make a difference. We wrote a letter asking for her support, but she had already done her own research into art therapy before that.”

Rose Hill has a high proportion of long-term unemployed people because of the downsizing of the nearby Cowley car plant, which originally made Morris cars but now produces the BMW-owned Mini.

More than half of the children at the school have special needs, and 48 per cent of its 340 pupils have English as a second language.

Sue Mortimer, the head teacher, said: “When people think of Oxford they think of the dreaming spires, but every city has its disadvantaged areas and this is one of them.

“The Art Room gives the children the chance to make something they can share with the other children and with their families. There is a real celebration of the work the children have done there.”

Every object the children make is designed to last, such as chairs, coffee tables, clocks and mirrors, so they can keep it at home as a reminder of what they have achieved.

While the Duke of Cambridge is away in the Falkland Islands with his RAF Search and Rescue squadron, the Duchess has been carrying out a programme of solo engagements which began with a visit to the National Portrait Gallery earlier this month and continued last week with a trip to a project in Liverpool run by Action on Addiction.