Target age range: Years 5 and 6

The author’s school’s log books form the basis of this enquiry. They begin when the school was created in 1863. The headteacher, Mr Waterson, created very detailed logs, often listing a variety of reasons why the children were away from school, which were very specific for the local area. This enquiry looks at the three main reasons: the local agriculture of hop farming, illness and local fairs. By using a range of other sources, the enquiry investigates these reasons for absences and builds up a picture of rural life in Wrecclesham 150 years ago.

This resource was written by Susannah Russell, a primary school teacher at St Peter’s C of E Primary School in Wrecclesham, Surrey.

Particular thanks to Surrey History Centre and Farnham Museum for their permission to reproduce images and sources in this resource.

Every effort has been made to trace all image copyright holders and permissions in these resources, although occasionally it has not been possible to identify these. Please contact Maheema Chanrai at maheema.chanrai@history.org.uk with any queries.

See also the linked Primary History article by Susannah Russell and Rachel Bruce:

• Teaching local history in primary schools: learning about effective practice from the BALH / HA Teacher Fellowship – Rachel Bruce and Susannah Russell