Long Leggety Beasties by Alienora Taylor

Long leggety beasties by alienora taylor

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Miss Geraldine Dolan is a probationary teacher in her first job. She’s been accepted as an English teacher at St.Thelma’s school in Cornwall. It’s the 1980’s, the school is in a castle near the village of Port Tossack, there are keeps and dungeons, a great hall and that’s where any thoughts of a resemblance to Hogworts should leave you immediately.

This is adult British humour at it’s driest, full of classic clichés, innuendos and mirth. There are a great many characters to love; The Archers, teachers who meet on the battlements with bow and arrows, Zoe, a plain teacher who looks in love and bets are taken as to who has captured her heart. Rogue is an Aussie supply teacher who brings an Antipodean artistic flair to the story and a set of dinner ladies to rival no other. Amongst the children there is Giblet and Nivek (Yes Kevin spelt backwards) and plenty of traditional Cornish surnames to liven things up.

The tale is written around a school year and involves riotous lessons, the use of the moat for fire drill, an Archery tournament, some builders with a reputation for being The Durex Boys and the crowning glory, a Pageant to end all Pageants if not the school.

If you love such British classics as St. Trinian’s, Faulty Towers, Carry on Films, Open All Hours and Only Fools and Horses, then the humour and bawdy jokes of this book should appeal to you.

Find a copy here from Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com.

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Out of the Woods But Not Over the Hill by Gervase Phinn

Out of the Woods But Not Over the Hill by Gervase Phinn

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Over the years I’ve read several books by Gervase. My first was Up and Down in the Dales. I love his tales from Yorkshire and his life as a teacher and then a school inspector. The Yorkshire dialect and humour is brilliant and funny, I’m always laughing out loud when I read his books. This book combines anecdotes and memories as well as a few personal opinions and Yes! I was still laughing.

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When crazy stuff happens

On Friday we woke to snow falling, but not enough to get school cancelled. So off the kids went and down fell more snow. By 10.30 the we had had about 2 inches and they decided to shut the school! So out went my husband in swirling snow to get the kids! We had a couple of more inches that afternoon and the area ground to a halt. The kids had a great time building snowmen in the garden. Sunday had light snow all day and school was due to resume on Monday but with a staggered late start.

Next the school boilers broke down, so they cancelled school for years 7 – 10 but made the year 11 go in because they have exams this week. So I have 1 happy child and 1 grumpy child. When we try to leave for school, my car won’t start, so we have to have a quick route march over fields, and housing estates on a route which we made up as we went along. We arrived at school only 10 minutes late.

Oh the joys of the snow!

Now awaiting my lovely Dad to come and help get my car started, as I really could do with getting in some more food, as there is more snow forecast for later in the day.

Re-sit Revision

With my oldest child entering the second and last year of her GSCE courses, news comes that school policies of re-sitting exams will be stopped. This is a direct reaction to news from top universities. When they look at applications from students with identical A level results, they will then look back further at their GCSE results. The number of exams which the student has re-sat to enable them to achieve high results, will go against them. So the schools will, for the moment, be putting an end to limitless re-sits.

I think I agree, as a parent, of course I want my child to achieve their best, however I think one shot at the exam for everyone is also a good policy. It will ultimately mean less exams to sit and fewer exam stresses.

Of course in today’s climate with fees rising and when students leave university with huge student loan debts and no prospect of a job, I’m yet to be convinced that it is a viable choice. I’d like to see a return to apprenticeship schemes where learning and earning a wage go side by side.