School life either changed dramatically or not at all for children in Chorley and District. Most of the men teachers went to war so many retired lady teachers returned to the classroom.
The Daily Routine
Assembly was every morning and prayers said for all the soldiers in the war and for victory. Lessons consisted of sums, writing compositions, religion, history, geography, needlework, knitting and cookery. Paper was scarce and every inch of paper was used. More often than not children wrote on slates. There was no school uniform at most schools, just clothes bought with coupons. The school desks were in twos and everyone faced the teacher. There were not a lot of library books, but there were some poetry books and novels.
Punishments
Discipline was very strict. Punishments were the strap or cane and everyone was scared of getting into trouble. Kneeling on the floor with hands on head for a whole afternoon was a tough one and a ruler over knuckles also hurt.
"You would be smacked with a ruler if you misbehaved and the head always gave the strap"
Games
Hopscotch, rounders, marbles, skipping ropes, leap frog, British bulldogs and football with a tennis ball were all very popular. Puzzle making was always fun and, corkwork used up any spare bits of wool.
"It was a rugby school, but all the lads supported Preston North End and we used to play football with rugby balls"
Food
There was only 2oz of sweets a month - equivalent to 1 tube of smarties. Basic geography was learned through what food each country produced and what was happening there during the war. For many there were no school dinners and children went home at lunch time. This sometimes involved a long walk in clogs. For those who did have school dinners there was sago pudding, which was vile, soups, pigs trotters, cabbage, potatoes and a tiny bit of meat.
