Above the entrance to my school is a stone on which the date 1900 is written. I’ve often wondered what the school was like when it opened and how different it was for the students then. Recently I decided I just had to find some answers to my questions. My history teacher didn’t know about the school’s early history and suggested I try the local history section of the public library. I didn’t know there was a section for that in the library and was amazed to find dozens of titles, including ones with old photos of my school.

I borrowed as many books as I was allowed. The first one I looked at contained a photo of a class of students and their teacher at my school. There was nothing about it I recognised except the school logo above a blackboard on which there were sums. There were about fifty students, with different year groups all mixed together. No one was smiling, but I read that was common in photos then.

Turning the pages of the other books, it was incredible to see so many photos. Children sat in long rows with nothing in front of them except a textbook and small board for doing sums or spelling tests on. The teachers were mainly women and only in their twenties. I later learnt that was because when a female teacher got married, she generally gave up her job. And everyone was dressed in smart clothes.

Above the entrance to my school is a stone on which the date 1900 is written. I’ve often wondered what the school was like when it opened and how different it