My abiding memory was how dark it was. I was convinced it was the dead of the night, but my mother assured me it was just early in the morning. After months of delays, it was finally my first day at school.

During my wait for a school place, I had nurtured the notion that I was missing out on something really exciting and fun. Then, having been put in a drab, grey classroom, shouted at for talking, and ordered to sit on cold, hard floor for assembly – and then being told my handwriting wasn't up to scratch – I promptly came to the conclusion that school wasn't all it was cracked........

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