Outing of Educational Value (for the teachers)

Extract from "Miss! Miss!" (An account of Life beyond the 3 R'S) by Una Dowding.

During my career as a teacher, I became involved in several organisations which included various aspects of education and so built up a circle of friends which lasts to this day. Inevitably, conversations between us often included the recounting of recent incidents which may have caused anxiety at the time but which, when viewed with hind-sight, made a good story. One of these, concerning a school in one of the roughest areas of Gloucester went thus:

Two teachers, having touched upon, with their respective classes, the days of trading under sail, organised a day trip to Bristol Docks. As usual, despite dire warnings to the contrary, many packed lunches had been consumed on the outward coach journey. This inevitably led to pleadings and threats to those with remaining food from those without, occasioning frequent tussles during the day. However, the day went as well as could be expected - perhaps better, as no-one actually fell or was pushed into the Bristol Basin - and the correct number of children appeared at the pick-up point ready for the coach journey home.

The exhausted teachers, intending to consolidate their relief at what had been a successful, if traumatic, day, told the children that remaining totally quiet for the first twenty miles would earn them the right to sing for the rest of the way back to the school. Some of the children seemed anxious to speak, but, after a final assiduous counting of heads, the driver was instructed to make his way back to Gloucester along the A38, the MS not yet having been built.

There was a persistent muttering from the children, punctuated by the occasional "Please Sir.....” followed by reminders from the staff that permission to sing for the last stage of the journey was being imperiled by each utterance.At last, after repeated pleas for attention from a usually compliant boy, one of the teachers went to hear his complaint and was horrified to learn that the said boy had no idea of the identity of the child sitting next to him. The teacher had to confess that he had never seen him, either.

The driver was asked to stop, while the realisation spread that, not only had they kidnapped a strange child, but that one of their own must be left, goodness knows where and probably unsupervised.The guilt of the teachers was not eased by the many accusations of,

"We tried to tell you, Sir, but you kept telling us to shut up."

One of the teachers took charge of the "stranger", alighted from the coach, which was to continue its journey, and crossed over the main road to hitch a ride back to Bristol. A compliant driver had taken them most of the way, when a small figure was seen thumbing a lift in the opposite direction. It was, indeed, the missing Gloucester pupil, so now there were three passengers for the accommodating car driver to deposit in Bristol where a distraught teacher was refusing to let his coach start homewards without one of his charges.

The all-round relief can be imagined when-the missing child was restored to him and the Gloucester teacher could at last return home - this time by service bus.

Thankfully, no child has been lost on any trip in which I was involved. We once lost the Headmaster, but that was another time, another school.