School life, between the linesBy Admissions Diary
School stories, admissions adventures, and the things parents talk about on the way home.
School traditions · Eton, England
The St Andrew's Day match is played against a wall built in 1717, with a door and a tree for goals. The college archives explain the rules, and a schoolboy's diary from 1866 explains the shins.
School life · School gyms, with competing soundtracks
A Minnesota elementary school gave every student a headset with three channels of music. The students all picked the same one and sang.
School life · Connecticut and New Jersey
In Connecticut, New Jersey and Bermuda, an elementary-school egg drop graduated from the roof to a fire truck. The crowd's request is always the same.
Parent life · Kitchen tables across America
The disguise-a-turkey project asks a child to save a bird from Thanksgiving. The first adult to find the instruction sheet becomes the getaway driver.
School life · Washington & San Antonio
Each October schools bless the animals for the feast of Saint Francis. One school report and one school's attendance policy explain what happens when the congregation has four legs.
Parent life · Texas
A Texas homecoming mum starts as a corsage and keeps going. One school district's reminder to families covers what happens when it arrives in a second-grade classroom.
School life · British primary schools
Some English schools make children earn the right to write in ink. At one of them, the application is a handwritten letter.
Parent life · At the school gates
Schools raffle and auction trips, dinners and signed jerseys. The prize parents actually want is a painted rectangle near the front door.
Boarding-school life · Middletown, Delaware
In May 2023 the senior class at St. Andrew's School in Delaware snuck into the head of school's house at 1 a.m. and went to sleep. She found them at 6, in her bathrobe.
Parent life · The weekend rota
An English infant school put a weekend sign-up sheet for its hamster on the classroom door. One parent online dreaded the whole idea for a very specific reason.
Parent life · The school bake sale
A parent new to British school bake sales asked Mumsnet how they work. The advice covered pricing, packaging and nuts, and one reply was firm about the lid.
Admissions theatre · Los Angeles and beyond
An admissions interviewer in Los Angeles asked a girl what she'd do with a fish and a slingshot. Her answer was a question. Another applicant, elsewhere, needed a break for hot chocolate.
