TODAY   |  December 01, 2012

Duchess Kate gets sporty, shares her old nickname

When Duchess Kate made a trip to her old elementary school, she played a round of field hockey and shared memories with the students, including the nicknames she and sister Pippa were given while they were in school. NBC’s Duncan Golestani reports.

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This content comes from Closed Captioning that was broadcast along with this program.

>>> now to the duchess of cambridge , who recently stopped by her alma mater , st. andrews. duncan golestani is outside buckingham palace this morning. duncan , good morning.

>> reporter: good morning, erica. this was kate 's first visit back to her elementary school where she spent nine years of her life. it was a real trip down memory lane , but we did learn a few new things about the duchess. who said royal life isn't challenging? try looking graceful and elegant while you're playing field hockey. not just that, try and making a mean pass while wearing high heel eed boots and an alexander mcqueen dress coat. kate , of course, takes it all in stride. the duchess was visiting her old elementary school . as a child she loved it so much, she told her mother she would come back as a teacher. instead, she returned as royalty.

>> it is such a treat to be back here at st. andrews. i absolutely loved my time here. they were some of my happiest years, which makes it so incredibly exciting to be back here today.

>> reporter: it's where kate excelled as an athlete, captain of the hockey team and top goal scorer. a love of sports was something she would have in common with her future husband and a cause she now likes to promote.

>> kate was initially quite a shy girl when she was at school. although she was quite studious and got on with her studies, it was her love of sport that was able to bring her out and become the person she is today.

>> reporter: she told pupils how they got their nicknames from the school guinea pigs , which were called pip and squeak.

>> because my sister was pippa, pippa was pip and i was squeak.

>> reporter: somehow that's hard to imagine. this week with her new hair style and newfound confidence, a reminder of how far kate has come. more than 20 years after leaving that school, kate still holds the record for the high jump . isn't that amazing? i'm wondering if maybe she was wearing heels at the time. erica?

>> i find that when i do a high jump in heels, it's definitely a better result. duncan , thanks.