A BIG adventure!

Kay Harrison tells how, aged three, she took herself off to the village school, unbeknown to her mum or dad…

When I was very small, my mother always took me in my pram past the Parish Church All Age School, where she was friends with the teachers who worked there.

Mother would often take a cake in for them at playtime, or even do a bit of shopping for them, so once I could walk I was used to going into school.

I loved the little ones’ classroom best. There was a big rocking horse to ride on, and my special love, a huge abacus with brightly coloured beads that went bang, bang, as you moved them along their wires. There were slates with clay pencils and clay for modelling. I loved it all and I knew I wanted to go to school.

Everybody told me

I was too small, but I could go to school when I was older. My dad bought me a small abacus, a blackboard and easel and coloured chalks, but it wasn’t enough. Granny told me it would be my birthday soon, and then I could go to school, but April 11 seemed a long way off. Eventually April arrived… but then something unexpected happened.

On April 5, Mother had a baby, a little boy. She was very ill and had to stay in bed. My dad had to go to work so a neighbour came in to help my mother and look after me.

I eventually had my birthday – but still couldn’t go to school as it was the Easter holidays!

The kindly neighbour was busy with her own family, and looking after my mother, so she didn’t bother much about me.

One morning, my dad had left for work, and I was on duty waiting for a sign that school had started again. Then I saw them… children hurrying up the road – this was it! I ran indoors, grabbed my coat, and joined the children walking and running into the playground. I knew the routine – join the line, march when told into school, leave your coat on a peg and go to your classroom.

There were a lot of children there, but I found an empty seat near the back. The class teacher told us how pleased she was to see us all again and called the register. Then she counted heads

‘Our neighbour said I’d been no trouble, so Dad went back to work quite happily and I went back to school’

and looked very worried… She walked round the class, touched my head and walked on. Then she stopped and came back to me. I told her my mother was ill in bed, so could not bring me. But I’d been told that when I was old enough, I could go to school, so I’d brought myself. I told her all about the new baby too and – what a relief – she said I could stay.

I went home like all the other children at dinner time. Our neighbour hadn’t missed me and Dad came home and served out our dinner, taking some upstairs for my mother. While we ate, he asked me what I had been doing, and I told him, playing with the abacus, doing sums, writing on my slate. Our neighbour said I had been no trouble at all, so Dad went back to work quite happily and I went back to school.

Later, I couldn’t wait for my dad to come home, so I could tell him all about my afternoon. He listened carefully but said he was sorry I could not go to school yet. Mother really was poorly but she would take me as soon as she was better. He was really quite surprised when I told him I had already taken myself!

There were a lot of explanations to give and we had to tell Mother what I’d been up to. My dad went round to the teacher’s house for a chat, but it was perfectly all right… I was so happy, I could go to school!