Children could be absent due to illness, floods (common in Loughton) and snow blocked roads. Because it was a farming community the children were also absent at harvest time and for bean picking, stone picking, gleaning or because they could not pay the penny fee.
			The Year Two children of Loughton Manor First School find out what school was like in Victorian times at the Milton Keynes Museum at Stacey Hill.
				Click here to go back to Loughton Manor First School in the year 2000.
		A Day in the Life of a Victorian Schoolchild. Children and teachers walked to school (sometimes 2 or 3 miles). School started with register followed by assembly with prayers and hymn singing, children had to stand silently. Infants learned scripture (stories from the Bible). They would then do writing or arithmetic and recitation (saying poems out loud). Children sat in rows at desks. Playtime midmorning followed by reading, singing or reciting. At 12 o'clock they walked home for lunch and came back at 2 o'clock. The afternoon began with singing and writing followed by another playtime and arithmetic. School finished around 4 o'clock when they walked home. Children copied what the teacher had written on the blackboard onto their slates or exercise books. Younger children used pencils, older children (like Walter) used a pen with a metal nib which had to be dipped in ink every few words. Teachers were very often older children who stayed on and became pupil teachers like Gertrude Stevens.