Leaving School by Hugo Williams

[Colin]

I was eight when I set out into the world
wearing a grey flannel suit.
I had my own suitcase.
I thought it was going to be fun.
I wasn't listening
when everything was explained to us in the Library,
so the first night I didn't have any sheets.
The headmaster's wife told me
to think of the timetable as a game of 'Battleships'.
She found me walking around upstairs
wearing the wrong shoes.

I liked all the waiting we had to do at school,
but I didn't like the work.
I could only read certain things
which I'd read before, like the Billy Goat Gruff books,
but they didn't have them here.
They had the Beacon Series.
I said 'I don't Know',
then I started saying nothing.
Every day my name was read out
because I'd forgotten to hang something up.

I was so far away from home I used to forget things.
I forgot how to get undressed.
You're supposed to take off your shirt and vest
after you've put on your pyjama bottoms.
When the headmaster's wife came round for inspection
I was fully dressed again, ready for bed.
She had my toothbrush in her hand
and she wanted to know why it was dry.
I was miles away, with my suitcase, leaving school.

By Hugo Williams

[Clare]

A good childs-eye poem Colin, the poor rich childs misery of boarding school hell !!

[GrimDad]

Alien School.

Rheumatics at eight
sealed the townie boys fate
because of what doctor ordered.
To be torn away from mum
and from his life of fun
to live in the country sun
with nuns of the other religion.
Up at five each day
alien prayers to pray
then cod liver oil
and a day mostly toil
was good for his health
but made his heart melt.
The boy grew and feared, though never sure,
of the medicine maybe being worse than the cure ?

[Clare]

I'm The Modern Kid

My parents are quite certain who is the cleverest one,
The one who cheats the Welfare best for an easy life of fun.
To smoke and drink and mess around and never work for anyone.

My friends are all sure that this is right so who can disagree ?
It seems my world has set this up as the easy future for me.
But I have an uneasy feeling that its the future that I should flee.

It does seem that some like working and seem to do quite well,
Though getting no reward for my schoolwork makes it hard to tell.
And its easy at school to play the fool and pass time till the bell !

I'm the modern kid my parents love and maybe you all hate.
I guess I'll head for Welfare when at last I exit that school gate.
My skills seem lost forever and it seems you've sealed my fate.