200 Kingsbury High School Students Strike

The school students strike at Kingsbury High School did go ahead today. Around 200 pupils stayed out of lessons, chanting and protesting when the bell went. They demanded a meeting with the Head who agreed to meet them later in the morning. At this meeting, complaints were made that once again only one side of the academy argument was given. There are plans for an important school council meeting at the start of the new term.

Note: This year marks the 100th anniversary of the 1911 Children's Strikes when pupils marched out of schools all over the country inspired by industrial unrest at the time. They made their own demands on issues such as corporal punishment and homework.

Park Lane celebrates 100 years of primary education

 

 

The whole school assembled on Park Lane to mark 9/11

Park Lane Infant and Junior School, Wembley will be marking its 100th anniversary this evening from 6pm. Former staff and pupils are all invited to attend the celebration.  This week staff and pupils have been dressed in Edwardian clothes and lessons have taken place on Edwardian lines.  I popped in yesterday to find pupils seated in  rows facing the front and each class stood in unison as soon as I entered the room. 

I inspected finger nails and unfortunately found one boy who appeared to have been planting potatoes before school and several girls with painted finger nails! There were several cases of tardiness and one of non-return of homework. Fortunately I found a cane in the teacher's cupboard...

Interestingly it was corporal punishment in a Welsh school that set off a series of children's strikes also one hundred years ago in the autumn of 1911. Eventually, in those days before social messaging or even radio,  the strikes spread to more than 60 towns throughout the UK. There is still debate amongst historians about whether the strikes were merely copycats of the industrial unrest then occurring across the country or something more.

Children walked out of school over Iraq in 2003, striking children in 1911

One hundred years later there is again social discontent and children are suffering disproportionately from public spending cuts.

More on 1911 Children's Strikes HERE