Its been a few days since I have written about London. The two week Easter holidays are over and schools have reopened. It almost sounded like the two week Dusshera break we get. The  break had left my nephew totally bored and  me and  bhabhi were looking forward to the school reopening. The school is 5 minutes walk from the house. The walk is never lonely, as most of the other kids are also from the neighbourhood, you see someone or the other walking by. Unlike India neighbours dont want warm up so easily and there is no small talk.

This is a public school (government run). It has a primary school and a nursey. Three years plus kids are preschoolers (like my nephew) and go to school only for two hours. Parents and kids wait in the porch and one of the teachers opens the gate and takes in a student at a time verbally noting the person accompanying the kid. I had to tell her that I am Gantavya's aunt and would come to pick him up as well. She greets every kid by name.
Inside the all kids draw out the slip of their name and put it in the tumbler. this is their attendance.

The area is bright and looks like any upmarket Delhi playschool. Most of the learning is through activities. Yesterday my nephew made a British flag. They have outdoor activities and kids are allowed to play with various toys. My nephew has wanted the motorbike for eons now, just like most other boys in the nursery, but refuses to run to get to it. We refuse to intervene to make him learn that sometimes you have to run after what you want. Mummy daddy or bua wont be there to give it to you on a platter.

A friend of bhabhi laments that British schooling provides 13 weeks of holidays and that cannot be adjsuted with any kind of job! (India must have at least 15!). Her daughter goes to a private school. She feels that if I can afford it (she's an architect), why not the best for my daughter? She's on a guilt trip that she is not providing enough time to her daughter. Adding to her misery is an acquaintance who has been told by the same school to withdraw her daughter as she cannot cope.

Luckily for her, her daughter's KeyStage I is just around the corner. KSI is like our board exams, only that there is one board across UK ( we have ICSE, CBSE etc) and given by kids in class 2. There is a KS2 later that decides the direction of studies for the kids.

Meanwhile April 24 was a mass strike by teachers across UK demanding higher wages. this is their  biggest strike since 1987. Maybe they heard of the  Seventh pay commission!!