A mate of mine is a teacher at a comprehensive in the middle of Birmingham. We often chat about school, and the differences between her place and mine. I think it really sank home today, though, when I told her I was off to serve dinner in the House. All she could say was:
God - it's all very oxbridge at your place innit?! Serve dinner? It's more of a greasy spoon diner at our place!
And the more I think about it, the more I realise she's right. Not about the greasy spoon diner - although I'm sure she could be right - nor even about Oxbridge in particular, but certainly school is a microcosm of Durham.
There's a strong loyalty to one's House, and the Houses all have a different atmosphere and stereotype. Teaching is done in departments, and the streets are heaving in the five minutes between lessons as people scurry from place to place. The village is small enough to recognise and greet people as you see them on a daily basis, even though you have no idea who they are. The school is tolerated by the locals, but very occasionally trouble rears its head, usually from those who resent this transient population taking over the village for 35 weeks a year and acting as if they own the place. It's a place steeped in history, and removing the school from the village, or vice versa, would destroy much of the atmosphere. There's a sense of history, of tradition, of purpose; perhaps this explains why I feel so much at home here.
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