American reacts to A Day in a British School

Thank you for watching me, a humble American, react to a day at a British school

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[margaretknight]

Yes, this was rather ‘staged’ although the broad picture is an accurate portrayal of the UK school day. These kids were a bit too impossibly polite and attentive all of the time! No, we don’t sing in the canteen at lunch - I think this was just to give atmosphere to that bit of the film!

[JayKughan]

That's literally the purpose of uniforms. It's so kids are viewed as equals.

[lioness]

Watch the ‘Educating …’ series. Educating Greater Manchester, as an example.

[Ukhome-sp]

This was how children behaved in the 50s and 60s well behaved

[Aureus_]

It should be noted this is primary school in the 2000s

[katehobbs]

In Australia all schools wear a uniform. Helps stop kids judging one another based on how much their clothes cost.

[rb]

Wikipedia suggests that Forest School, Walthamstow is a Private School, so even 13 years ago it would have been a bit out of the norm for a UK Primary School.

[TukikoTroy]

Looks like a Junior (elementary) school with ages from 7 to 11. Obviously everyone is on their best behaviour and have been rehearsed in the most part. In reality, although they would normally be much more rowdy, kids this age are still polite and respectful.

[jules.]

The children on their lunch in the canteen weren't singing. It was the video creator who added it.

[chrishawkins]

I would think this is a Church of England school. I used to walk about 2.5 miles each way every day, no matter what the weather!

[deirdrewalsh]

I’ve worked in primary and secondary schools and we sing a lot, also dance and put on theatrical performances regularly.

[turquoiseragdoll]

I'm not British, but in my school not only did we have to sing, but we would also have compulsory dance lessons.

[zo]

Some schools are CofE (Church of England schools) which are still state (public to Americans) school, but associated with the Church of England. I went to a regular, non CofE, primary school and in assembly we still did hymns. You get info about events upcoming, the latest school news etc and then at the end we'd sing 2 hymns. I believe all schools, apart from religious schools, need to be 'predominantly Christian in nature'.

Personally, I really enjoyed hymns and still do today, despite being atheist.

[mattgames]

I think school start time is partially a result of being further north, so at 6:30 it would be incredibly dark at some parts of the year. As others have said though, this video is very old, uploaded 13 years ago and is out of date in some aspects. In secondary school I was expected to be in a class at 8:30, and therefore had to be there for 8.

[helenwood]

Hate to break it to you, but Hallowe'en started in the British Isles and is a major religious festival for druids like me.

[colinbirks]

We don't do school buses. Public transport (buses) are perfectly adequate.

[juliajoyce]

The school in the video is Forest School in Walthamstow, it is a fee paying private school, at my state (public in the US) primary school we sang hymns during assembly it wasn’t a church school, this was the norm until the 80’s or so. My daughter went to a state run Church of England school in the 2010’s and they sung hymns during assembly but my niece’s primary school didn’t sing hymns as it wasn’t a religious school.

[danielferguson]

Here in the UK it is normal to have assembly every morning, with a Christian bias, not heavy on religion, but a hymn or two & prayers. It also is where announcements on school events & activities are made by the head teacher etc. This video shows a pretty good school, in a affluent area, with well spoken & behaved children. Not all schools are this well run, or the kids so well mannered. Most schools do not employ special buses, though some kids may use the regular area bus services, or be driven by a parent. It looks very like school was when I was a child in the 1960's, except in those days most of us went home for lunch, walking or cycling, only a few children had lunches in school, because their parents worked or similar, & some children from very poor households.
Most towns had/have several schools so there was/is usually one within walking distance for most children, at least up to secondary stage, at around age 11.
Now some schools have been relocated on the edge of towns, so car or bus travel is more common, especially for school after the age of 11 years. The British school system is divided into several parts by the age of the children. First there is nursery, for very young children, from age 3, then infant school or primary, for kids between 5 & 11 years. Next comes secondary school, which might be called a grammar school, from age 11 to 16, after which most kids do a further 2 years to study for final exams, called GCE's, general certificate of Education. These exams are graded in order to allow entry into university, or another further education college or course. Children are now expected to stay in some education or training, maybe in a trade, up until the age of 18 years. When I was young many kids left education altogether at age 15/16 to start their working life, if they had not qualified for higher education in a college or university. There is no general 'Graduation' in British schools, as the assessment of grades at GCE's is done by a separate examination body, not within the normal school system, & results are sent by mail, or maybe Email these days, direct to each child. Some schools do arrange final weeks events, like US style 'Proms' etc, copying American models from films etc.

[ronuss]

This is legit what my school was like in the 80s. my sons current school isn't really much different either. i cant remember one bad thing that happened when i was in primary school, this video feels pretty authentic if not a little out dated with its music lol

[leehallam]

School buses are not the norm here, though you may find them for schools with large catchment areas. Mostly kids are driven by parents, walk or catch ordinary buses.