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Document 1 The scene takes place at the beginning of the 20th century. George is sent to the village school. He wears a deep starched collar with a loose bow tie to hide the stud, a waistcoat which buttons up to just below the tie, and a jacket with high,
Document 1 The scene takes place at the beginning of the 20th century. George is sent to the village school. He wears a deep starched collar with a loose bow tie to hide the stud, a waistcoat which buttons up to just below the tie, and a jacket with high, almost 5 horizontal lapels. Other boys are not so neat: some wear rough, home-knitted jerseys or ill-fitting jackets passed on from elder brothers. A few have starched collars, but only Harry Charlesworth wears a tie as George does. 10 His mother has taught him his letters, his father simple sums. For the first week he finds himself seated at the rear of the classroom. On Friday they will be tested and rearranged by intelligence: clever boys will sit at the front, stupid 15 boys at the back; the reward for progress being to find yourself closer to the master, to the seat of instruction, to knowledge, to truth. This is Mr Bostock, who wears a tweed jacket, a woollen waistcoat, and a shirt-collar whose points are pulled in behind his tie by a gold pin. Mr Bostock carries a brown felt hat at all times and places it on the desk during 20 class, as if he does not trust it out of his sight. At the end of the first week Mr Bostock tests them at reading, spelling and sums. He announces the results on Monday morning, and then they move desks. George is good at reading from the book in front of him, but his spelling and sums let him down. He is told to remain at the back of the form. He does no better the next Friday, and the 25 one after that. By now he finds himself surrounded by farm boys and mine boys who don't care where they sit, indeed think it an advantage to be farther away from Mr Bostock so they can misbehave. George feels as if he is being slowly banished from the way, the truth and the life. Mr Bostock stabs at the blackboard with a piece of chalk. 'This, George, plus this' 30 (stab) 'equals what?' (stab stab). Everything in his head is a blur, and George guesses wildly. 'Twelve,' he says, or, 'Seven and a half.' The boys at the front laugh, and then the farm boys join in when they realize he is wrong. Mr Bostock sighs