I went to M`s prizegiving at her old school last night. She left last summer and is now at college doing her A levels.. My grandmotherly heart swelled with pride when teachers spoke glowingly of her work. She was awarded a shield for Latin, and a cup for French which was her worst subject, but she had made huge efforts and got a good grade. There was something very touching about the whole event, all those hopes and ambitions, and the feeling that the staff really minded and wanted the best for the children. The girl who got the highest grades (I think it was thirteen subjects!) in the whole area was a Bangladeshi from a humble family who had had a tough time when she first came to the predominently white comprehensive. So that was something to feel cheerful about.
I am going through a bad phase of not having a good novel on the go at present. Our next book for the reading group is Tess of the D`Urbevilles, but I cannot bear to read it again as it is so dreadfully sad. I find that and Jude the Obscure upset me so. Such injustice. I can`t be doing with it.