Children attending the village schools in Victorian times often lived some distance away.
This meant that children as young as four were walking for miles over rough tracks in rain and snow.

In winter most schools started and finished their afternoons earlier so that children did not have to walk home in the dark.

Even so it is not surprising that the weather kept many of the younger children away in winter.

Many did not have proper footwear - some were even barefoot - and the risk of catching a chill just too great.

Some teachers recorded that hardly any infants got to school for weeks on end.

More about hard times at school...