already left.
There was another boy who had also missed the coach back: Nicholas. He was about the same height as me, with short black hair. Neither of us had enough money for a bus ticket to the centre of Bristol, so we were left with the daunting prospect of a four-mile walk to Temple Meads, where our bus passes were valid.
The sports fields were close to Verrechiaâs ice cream factory, which had a shop window close to the road, and Nick kindly bought me an ice cream for the long walk ahead. We started chatting, and became friends. Nick and I ended up spending quite a bit of time together after school, as we were both on the same bus route. He had the latest video games and a bike. He always shared these generously, even though I was never very good at playing computer games. I did okay at Spy Hunter , which was basic compared to todayâs games, but it led the market at the time. I can still hear the sound of the cassette tape now.
The disparity between our backgrounds was never an issue because Nickâs mother made sure he was considerate. He wound up being my longest-term and most reliable friend at Redcliffe.
For the most part, however, I struggled to fit in, and my house teacherâs report told of me being âquarrelsome.â Everyone else seemed to have made friends so much more easily. I did try to get along better with the other pupils, but it was still difficult for me. Whenever there was a large group I retreated to safety, as I always felt that the crowd was against me. My reading was still very advanced, and I retreated into that frequently. This meant that my comprehension level was also very advanced, and I always got great remarks from Mr. Pullin for English, with many good ideas culled from my reading.
Redcliffe was divided into âhouses.â They werenât physical houses: each floor of the main building was devoted to one house. They were named after different people, each a benefactor associated with the school. At the time I attended the school, first-year pupils were separated into James House. At James House, schooling was still quite old-fashioned. Discipline was firm, and corporal punishment was very much alive and well. If you were particularly naughty, you would end up in front of Mr. Graham, the stern head of house. Use of corporal punishment took the form of a beating from what was known as the âpercy.â It was an old Dunlop plimsoll, or trainer shoe, and those who received the beating spoke about it with awe. The rest of us tried to make sure we avoided that particular punishment.
From the second year onwards, we spent our time at the main school building in Somerset Square. It was a 1970s building withplenty of glass and concrete. I quickly gained a reputation with the teachers as being someone who could do very well when I applied myself. I was particularly good at English and German, and was usually at the top end of the class. I struggled more at mathematics and had to really apply myself very strictly at the sciences to make good progress.
I was relieved about one thing, though: that I wouldnât have to do any more needlework after the first year. I wasnât very good at it, and although it taught me how to sew a button, I didnât see any use for it. Instead, we did something called home economics, which involved planning meals and cooking. I actually enjoyed this, and made several different dishes including meringue, bread-and-butter pudding, and cottage pie. My favourite, though, was preparing mackerel. One Tuesday morning, we came in to find a mackerel at each of our work stations. We had to slice them open, gut them, and clean them out before stuffing them and baking them. This I loved doing, and it taught me to cook, which is something I still love to do.
By my third year, I was promoted to the top stream, as I had managed to improve my term-time work. My main problem was that I was never very organized and always did everything
There was another boy who had also missed the coach back: Nicholas. He was about the same height as me, with short black hair. Neither of us had enough money for a bus ticket to the centre of Bristol, so we were left with the daunting prospect of a four-mile walk to Temple Meads, where our bus passes were valid.
The sports fields were close to Verrechiaâs ice cream factory, which had a shop window close to the road, and Nick kindly bought me an ice cream for the long walk ahead. We started chatting, and became friends. Nick and I ended up spending quite a bit of time together after school, as we were both on the same bus route. He had the latest video games and a bike. He always shared these generously, even though I was never very good at playing computer games. I did okay at Spy Hunter , which was basic compared to todayâs games, but it led the market at the time. I can still hear the sound of the cassette tape now.
The disparity between our backgrounds was never an issue because Nickâs mother made sure he was considerate. He wound up being my longest-term and most reliable friend at Redcliffe.
For the most part, however, I struggled to fit in, and my house teacherâs report told of me being âquarrelsome.â Everyone else seemed to have made friends so much more easily. I did try to get along better with the other pupils, but it was still difficult for me. Whenever there was a large group I retreated to safety, as I always felt that the crowd was against me. My reading was still very advanced, and I retreated into that frequently. This meant that my comprehension level was also very advanced, and I always got great remarks from Mr. Pullin for English, with many good ideas culled from my reading.
Redcliffe was divided into âhouses.â They werenât physical houses: each floor of the main building was devoted to one house. They were named after different people, each a benefactor associated with the school. At the time I attended the school, first-year pupils were separated into James House. At James House, schooling was still quite old-fashioned. Discipline was firm, and corporal punishment was very much alive and well. If you were particularly naughty, you would end up in front of Mr. Graham, the stern head of house. Use of corporal punishment took the form of a beating from what was known as the âpercy.â It was an old Dunlop plimsoll, or trainer shoe, and those who received the beating spoke about it with awe. The rest of us tried to make sure we avoided that particular punishment.
From the second year onwards, we spent our time at the main school building in Somerset Square. It was a 1970s building withplenty of glass and concrete. I quickly gained a reputation with the teachers as being someone who could do very well when I applied myself. I was particularly good at English and German, and was usually at the top end of the class. I struggled more at mathematics and had to really apply myself very strictly at the sciences to make good progress.
I was relieved about one thing, though: that I wouldnât have to do any more needlework after the first year. I wasnât very good at it, and although it taught me how to sew a button, I didnât see any use for it. Instead, we did something called home economics, which involved planning meals and cooking. I actually enjoyed this, and made several different dishes including meringue, bread-and-butter pudding, and cottage pie. My favourite, though, was preparing mackerel. One Tuesday morning, we came in to find a mackerel at each of our work stations. We had to slice them open, gut them, and clean them out before stuffing them and baking them. This I loved doing, and it taught me to cook, which is something I still love to do.
By my third year, I was promoted to the top stream, as I had managed to improve my term-time work. My main problem was that I was never very organized and always did everything
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