Primary Six have been working very hard learning all about The Victorians. We have had our own experience of what life was like for a Victorian child at school when we went to Scotland Street.

We learned that children who were lucky enough to go to school had a very hard time! They started each day by chanting their multiplication tables up to 12. They needed to do this to help them work with their money. Lessons were carried out on slates or using a quill pen. If you got any ink on your hands, spoke out of turn, were naughty or even late you got the belt or even worse, the cane!  The classrooms were poorly light by gas laps and heated by a coal heater making it very cold, dark and grim. The children sat on wooden benches and the boys and girls were separated at the door.  Their P.E was called Drill and they had to wear a dreadful uniform. The girls had lessons to help them become a good wife and mother a learned to cook and clean. The boys learned practical skills with lessons like woodwork.

We were all very scared of our teacher and we are so glad schools are not like that now!

The teacher was very very scary! Josh

Luckily,  the teacher was happy with our work so we didn’t get the belt. I was so scared that my face turned very hot! Anna