The teacher from Pantycrai School had a neat way of putting it when he wrote about the number of children who were away helping with the harvest in August 1877 -

This entry from the Log Book reads -
"Few children present that are able to lift a fork or drag a rake..."
This meant that anyone who was big enough to be useful was out in the fields helping to get the hay in !

There are more unhappy remarks from the same school Log Book on two successive weeks in 1873 -
2nd May - "Average for week truly disgaceful - 11.4"
9th May - "Average for week miserably small - 12.2"
If the average for the week was just over 11 it means that there were fewer than 11 children at school on some days !

There are more examples of the problems with attendances at local schools in Victorian times on the next page...

More about the missing pupils...