The trouble with school...

The proof is in the pudding, as they say....


Yesterday Vinnie got hauled out of class. The head of year came and called him, two of his mates and a girl they know, and marched them across the grounds and up the block to the music room, snarling and growling at them all the way. They cacked it... wondering what on earth they'd done. They thought they were in trouble, big time.

When they got there the teacher flung open the door and bustled them in.... to a PARTY!

They, and a few others - about 20 of them altogether, were being rewarded for being the best behaved year 9's all year! The head of year and their individual form tutors had arranged the little do for a treat to show their appreciation. They had music, food and drinks, and missed a couple of lessons while the other kids got on with creating mayhem in the classrooms below.

It was a total surprise, and Vin was well impressed at escaping Geography and English :-) He thought it was so funny that Sir had tricked them... he really had thought they were getting done for something!

Personally, I think it was a lovely gesture. This was not our first choice school. Vin was denied a place at the school our 3 girls went to after they scrapped the criteria that granted siblings an automatic place, on the grounds that it discriminated against immigrants. This school, in our catchment area is very large, with a less than savoury reputation, and Vin was heartbroken when he learned he'd have to go there. However, it turned out all our fears were unfounded, because actually, he's happier here than he's ever been anywhere! Yes, there are a lot of hooligans, and classes are disrupted daily. Chaos rules the classroom but somehow he manages to survive it all and came out of his Sats with 5's and 6's and is well liked by all his teachers.

In his first year at this place he's lost 2 form tutors - both driven out of their posts by awful uncontrollable children, but thankfully, there are obviously still a few there who think it's worth hanging on for the ones who want to learn and do well, despite their appalling surroundings.