Many Victorian schools were in a very bad condition for a lot of the time, because little money was available to improve them. Some school records mention lumps of plaster dropping on to children's heads from the ceiling !
Going to school in the winter could be very hard on the children, because they often arrived soaking wet and had to sit in very cold rooms.
This Log Book entry is from St Harmon's National School in November, 1880...

"... When that supply is exhausted I procure another by the same means".

The month before, the teacher had written "I am obliged to send the children to gather sticks from the hedges".
By getting his pupils to bring sticks with them instead of going out for them during the day, he got fuel for the fire without losing time for lessons !

But the children often had to get the fire going in the morning, as well as providing the wood...

Keeping the school fires burning...