1890 – 1899
1891 - ‘Children on roll in June-83; school closed due to influenza and others in the fields thinning Swedes. ‘September-‘Accepted school fees form Education Department. School Free.’ From this note one learns that children were no longer to be charged the “school pence” for their tuition, no doubt to the delight of parents. This, one would have imagined, would cause much improvement in attendance at the school. Alas, the following entry shows that this was not so: ‘Large numbers of absentees, same families irregular, cannot get them to attend by fair means or compulsion.’ November. -‘Miss Wright commenced duties as assistant teacher; Jane Jones, Llandring commenced as school cleaner.’ December. -‘Many parents complained that children arrive home in darkness, too dark also in school and so open school 1 p.m. and dismiss at 3.30 p.m.’
1892 - The year opened with heavy snowstorms, ‘school closed as children do not bother to attend.’ February. -‘Ploughing match in field near Finger, school closed because of it.’ August. -First mention of Sunday School Trip, but no details are given as to where the school went. ‘School closed so children could see the soldiers at Llanfair P.G’. October. -‘Exceedingly cold with heavy rain all day, only twenty in school, so I let them have a good fire to dry their clothes and warm themselves.’
1893 - ‘Repairs to school premises, school closed, school white-washed; many children down with the mumps.’ May. -Extract from Inspector’s Report: ‘There are no urinals and some maps and diagrams are required.’ From this note one is amazed at the alarming absence of an essential provision at the school and to conjecture what means were used to confirm with the rules of nature. September. -‘Many absent, gathering mushrooms and blackberries for sale.’ November. -‘School open only on Monday of this week on account of the death of my little boy, Oswald Stanley Butler.’
1894 - March 2. -‘Headmaster absent, attending his father’s funeral.’ March 30. -‘Robert Hugh Hughes, Tai Newydd, Llanddaniel, left for America.’ May. -Extract from Inspector’s Report: ‘No cloakrooms are provided, the girls’ playground is used as a garden, urinals now in boys’ yard.’ August. -‘Llanddaniel and Llanedwen Churches Sunday School trip to Llandudno.’ October. -‘Whole school invited by Lord Anglesey to a ports meeting in Plas Newydd, to be followed by tea party.’ November. -‘Cloakrooms in process of erection.’
1895 - Late January to early March was a period of severe weather, heavy rains being followed by sleet and snowstorms and then hard frosts: ‘Attendance at school very low.’ August. -‘Average attendance excellent (71.8%) for week as children expecting a tea party, and so attending regularly as they know not what day it will be.’ No details of this tea party were given in the log.
1896 - January. -‘Caned two boys for throwing stones on top of school.’
1897 - September. -First mention of a threshing machine in the district, ‘the children following it from farm to farm.’
1898 - February. -‘Ellen Pritchard takes over school cleaning from Elizabeth Jones’; ‘received grant of £9 12s. to increase teaching staff.’ This indicates the low wages commanded by teachers of the time, even less than those obtained in earlier years. July. -‘Headmaster gives monetary prizes in hope of improved attendance’; ‘H.M.I. at last observes a long ladder which was always stored inside the class.’
1899 - March 2. -‘Closed school due to death of Robert Cecil Butler (peritonitis) aged 19 years 8 months.’
From the frequent references made in the log about poor attendance at the school, the following list shows the wide variety of causes for absence as given by the children: ‘working among the turnips’; ‘thinning turnips’; ‘gleaning in the corn-fields’; ‘potato planting’; ‘working in the hay’; ‘working in the corn’; ‘potato picking’; ‘gathering mushrooms and picking blackberries for sale in Menai Bridge’; ‘picking stones in field for hay’; ‘egg clapping at Easter’; ‘accompanying parents to go begging at Christmas’. It will be seen that the children had a formidable repertoire of excuses to offer at any time of the year.
Attendance per week at the school of 65% was considered as very good. Every means of solving the problem of absence appear to have failed despite a variety of enticing inducements and the appointment of a full time attendance office. Again in November for this particular year the following entry is made: ‘Low attendance today, those who are here keep coughing all day long which makes it miserable to be with them.’
