This article was taken from the 1872-1972 booklet produced by the school. I attended Hambleton School in 1902. I was admitted at the early age of three years and was in a class of infants with 42 other children. Little girls in those days wore a pinafore to keep their dresses clean. They also wore boots instead of shoes. The boys wore collars outside their jackets which had no collars. The teacher wore a long black skirt and a black silk blouse and her name was Miss Clough. The children came from Gateforth, Scalm Lane and Thorpe Willoughby to Hambleton and they had to walk to school and back, a distance of two miles each way. In the dark days of winter they were allowed to leave at 3 o’clock to enable them to get home before dark. One child was killed walking home at the time of Martinmas Fair, she was knocked down by a Fair wagon. During a severe diphtheria epidemic one child died of the illness and many children stayed away from school. Hambleton Feast was held on 9th June and it was hopeless opening the school for no one attended and so the school closed for a holiday. Girls came to school in curl papers and were sent home to have them taken out. During July the school was closed for about six weeks, whilst pea-pulling was in progress. Children went pea-pulling to earn a few coppers. I received one penny per peck for pulling peas. The money earned was for new pinafores for school. Later in September many were absent again to go gathering brambles and elderberries and do potato picking. Those who had left school at 13 years earned 1s. 3d per day working on the land. At school I learnt the 3 R's and sewing was done on two afternoons per week. The articles made were sold when finished. Sometimes we had to knit squares. We took it in turns to fill the inkwells. Those children who came from the outlying farms and villages brought a packed lunch which they ate in the school seated around the stove. Water was brought from the pump. Pocket money was 1 penny per week with which I bought one half-penny worth of fish and chips and one halfpenny worth of sweets. I was glad to leave school when I was 13 years of age and I went to work on the land, and have worked the land ever since. Mrs Smith. A peck is just over 900 grams and 1d is worth less than 1 pence today. Martinmas was traditionally celebrated on 11th November in honour of St Martin. Following the 1st World War it became Armistice Day.