I felt a delicate breeze brush past my face and it seemed, for a second, I was in another place, the aroma of cookery and food! I wandered curiously along the hall out of the house and took the path that beckoned me to explore the kitchens. This part of the school was much more modern and revealed an element of liveliness and excitement. The dining hall was probably the most used room of the school. I remembered coming in here and sitting down with all my friends and enjoying a fabulous meal. The memories filled my mind that I hardly noticed my own name engraved on the scholarship and awards board. It showed all the names who had proved themselves worthy to the school academically, musically or through sportsmanship. Upon first arriving at the school my friends and I all wondered what it would be like to have our own names branded on this board. Little did we know that our names were actually going to be published on there! Posted all around the dining hall were the headmasters’ paintings dating back to the first ever headmaster that opened the school. The paintings had that kind of eeriness around them which made the dining hall look old and discomforting.
Just round the corner were the infinite corridors of class rooms, each and every one the exact same. All housing a whiteboard which was never properly cleaned so there was always the occasional prank put up on there in permanent marker pens. About thirty chairs and desks, again mutilated to the occupants satisfaction with dents, graffiti and not forgetting the abundance of chewing gum of all assortments. They all seemed to tell the same story of pupils being bored to death by the continuous drone that filled the room. Most minds were mainly focused on the outside world. From one of the class rooms you could see the path leading up to the second part of the school. It was about one hundred yards from the first part to the second part. On one side of the alley there was the wall of the swimming pool centre which radiated a soothing warm lapse of air that was perfect for those chilly wintry days. Opposite this there was the main fence running up the whole of the side of the school. This backed onto the weary houses, many abandoned probably because of the number of disturbances that they got from the school. The fence was also taken over by its’ old age. Mosses and dirt had already begun to nest there and holes had appeared ruining the life drained wood, this then allowed the odd stray cat to wander around the school premises.
Upon arriving, the sports court, still in mint condition, lay on my right obscuring the view of the swimming pool. The school was proud of its sports facilities and how fortunate the school was to have these two features.
I had always admired science and the science block was where I got my first ever real lesson in the profession. Many explosions had occurred around this building and it also reminded me of some funny moments including how a pupil mistook some sulphur, which happened to be bright yellow in colour, for some sherbet. I don’t think he went near the stuff again! The benches were still no different; chewing gum engulfed the undersides of stools and tables. Burn marks and craters were left scarred all over the tables proving the existence of energetic pupils hard at work
The ringing of the chapel bell implored me to leave as the school was about to be closed for the day. As I was leaving the school I couldn’t forget how many times I had done it before when I was one of the pupils myself. A huge wave of nostalgia rushed over me as I turned and left with that happy and satisfied feeling that I always had when I journeyed home from school as a boy.
