Education

Trefnanny School

These are some extracts of diaries from a very small primary school in Montgomeryshire, with 2 teachers. The school is housed in a Victorian building set in a field.

• Lunch

  Maths lesson

  Small group lesson

  Lunchtime

  (Aged 10) Woke up at half past seven. Steve was on the phone. He asked if he could borrow one of my Giant African Snails for an event of unusual pets . . . We went into assembly and the Head teacher was talking about we should wash in the morning. When we went out we had language. My group started a new unit called the Dancing Bear 2. When we finished we went out to play. The boys and me played football. When we came in we went for group reading, then we did maths. After that we had dinner . . .We had Welsh, then we went out for a 10 minute break. We came back in, got changed and went out for PE. After I went out to a neighbour's garden to get the ball which we knocked over. I said prayers and walked up to the car. Mum was talking to one of my friend's mums. About half an hour later I got home.

• (Aged 9) Went to school and played football. Did language and went outside to play football. Came in and did maths and went on the computer. Had dinner . . .went outside and I practised kick ups. I did 208 of them. Did Welsh and did PE. We played cricket. We had a score of 18 runs, 19 runs for the other team.

• (Aged 8) Mum dropped us off at school. . I went straight outside and played ball tick with my friends. Then the bell rang and we had assembly. Then we came back in class and did language, then went outside for playtime and talked to my friends. Then we went inside. It was time for group reading. When we finished it was time for a bit of maths, then it was dinner time . . . We had Welsh then we went outside and did PE. It was yoga and we played quick cricket, then it was home time and our teacher told us a story.

• (Aged 8) Had assembly. We sang. We went back to our classroom. We had maths and then we had language and I put my sheet in my folder. Playtime I sat on the bench and had a chat to my friends. Then the bell rang and we came in and had dinner . . . we went to have a play. We played netball instead. When I came in we all did Welsh and he told us that tomorrow we will all watch a video. After we had a sheet and it was all about the war and evacuees. The we went out for PE and we played quick cricket and did exercise. I had a drink and then we had a story and then we went home. We went to piano lessons. I put mum's washing on the line outside, went upstairs and did my homework and then I played outside on my bike and with my football. Then I came in and had a banana and quickly went out to see the hot air balloon.

• (Aged 10) Went to school in dad's car. At school talked to friends. Bell rang. "My Mate Shofiq" (a book) came through the post. Did language. Had playtime. In playtime played football. Maths, then lunch . . . Playtime, played netball. Came in, sang World War II song and looked at World War II cartoon. Did Welsh. The PE. In PE did gymnastics on field due to no hall.

• (Aged 9) Today woke up at 7.00. Read 'Chronicles of Narnia'. Went down. Found out clock was an hour slow . . . went to car, drew on window, got in, forgot lunch, went back, got orange Penguin bar. Arrived at school Talked to friends. Assembly, then language, then play time on Successmaker maths . . . found out I was wing attack, played netball, did Welsh, talked about a cartoon, went out for PE. We did gymnastics and cricket. Went home.

• (Aged 6) I went to school. I go to the toilet. I go on computers. I do some work. I go out to play. I do some more work. I have dinner. I go home.
  
  
• (Aged 6) I got up. I fell out of bed. Went downstairs. Went to school. Did maths. Went home.

• (Aged 5) I had Weetabix for breakfast. I watched TV. I went to school. I had supper and went to bed.

• (Aged 4) I had Weetabix for breakfast. I went to school.

  "What's there?" People ask me
  When I tell them where I live
  And an explanation I find
  Is very hard to give.
  No church or chapel will you see,
  No monument or cemetery,
  No shop in which to sell your wealth
  No inn in which to drink your health,
  Nor yet have we a village hall,
  Just a school, a house, a farm, that's all,
  But dear to folk who here reside
  In this lovely countryside.
  So imagine now then, if you can
  A place as yet unspoiled by man.