Monday, September 01, 2008

Seems like longer

Five years ago at this time, we would be counting down the last days of our Summer holiday. Traditionally the day we returned to school would be sunny - often the best weather we'd seen since breaking up in July.

The morning of the first day back at Anfield was usually spent reflecting on the results of the Summer examinations and then it was back to business. First off there were the new children to sort out - all bright and clean in their uniforms. They'd look lost und perhaps even scared in their new environment. However, it didn't take long for some of them to make their mark.

Then the seasoned troupers would arrive. At Anfield KS3 children wore red sweatshirts and KS4 blue. So the new Yr10 pupils had to strut for a while to show off their new status. The Yr 8 children were no longer the youngest and so had to exert themselves on the new Yr 7 and of course the Yr 11 pupils established themselves as "kings of the jungle".

Sixth Form students didn't have to wear uniform so they had the difficult task of deciding what to put on each day. Clothes reveal status so it was important not to wear the wrong trainers or an out of date T-shirt. The sensible ones opted for a grey sweater and grey skirt or trousers opting to keep their best clothes for out of school.

The start of a new year always brought renewed hope. Would the results be better this year, would the classes be better behaved and most important would the timetable actually work?

One week in and the five weeks or so of holiday always seemed a distant memory. Now, five years on, memories of those Septembers are even more distant.

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