A sample of our diary-writing based on the video "A Victorian Diary", and our own note-taking from various books in class.

Tuesday 21st, October, 1833
Today in physical gymnastics I got hit in the back by Scott K and he got hung in the basket!
After that we did arithmetic: very boring. I kept getting everything wrong but Ma'am didn't notice. We did some reading which was a lot more fun. Next we wrote in our copy books. At break I played marbles with Scott, and when we came back in we had to repeat sentences.
It was then time to go home. [AW]

Monday 18th, September, 1839
Today I was late for school and Ma'am was teaching the times tables. I started to join them with the chanting and soon it was playtime. Tania and I played with marbles and in the middle of the game Susan Bayley came along and she pushed my marbles away with her foot. And that was the start of it! [LG]

Monday 18th, September, 1839
I was being a bad boy at school today and got put in the corner with the Dunce cap on, but I kept singing so the teacher put me in the basket hanging from the ceiling. I thought it was fun up there in the basket and I didn't have to work. Some other kids in my class got lashed instead of coming into the basket because I was in the basket having fun.
Later on the teacher took me down from the basket. I thought to myself "work is evil". [MW]

Monday 25th, September, 1839
My first day at school. We had to learn about the Bible. It was so boring so most of the children got hung up in the basket. Iwas lucky. I was one of them so I could relax in the basket playing with my marbles that were in my pocket.
Some people got whipped because they were sleeping. One of my friends got whipped.
After reading the Bible we had to do exercises so that people could one day work in factories. One of the girls dropped her wieghts on her foot. She fell on someone and everyone started falling! I stepped away, and everyone had to get whipped! [DT]

Monday 18th, September, 1844
Dear Diary,
Today I was late for school and Ma'am wasn't very happy with me. Luckily, I didn't get the cane.
We also did chanting and writing. We mostly chanted the times tables, which was really boring.
Tommy was mumbling again so he had to stand in the corner. Sally giggled at Tommy. I kept my mouth shut and covered Sally's mouth.
There's not much to write now. Write to you tomorrow. [NNL]

Monday 1st, January, 1845
I learn at a monitored school. It is great. Today, when I was talking to Jack, the monitors saw me and Jack so the monitor told the teacher and the teacher put me in a basket and hung me from the ceiling. [RT]

Monday 18th, September, 1846
Today poor Pawin had to be hung from the ceiling in a basket for being late! We had to do reading first, then exercising. The exercising was easy but the teachers were strict.
When Pawin came down, he looked as if his legs were going to fall.
In arithmetic all we did was chant our times tables. Pawit got in trouble for smudgin ink on his sheet of paper. [RK]

Monday 27th, September, 1848
At school we did arithmetic. When we got to eight times eight, Robert was dreaming, looking around. Suddenly Miss Woods saw Robert and said, "Robert, stop looking around. Go to the corner." So he did. Everyone was laughing at him because he was wearing the Dunce cap. But I didn't laugh; I felt sorry for him. [CC]

Monday 18th, September, 1849
Today poor Abi had to start writing again because he smudged ink on his good copy. Then Abi started throwing his quill at my head. For his punishment he was put in a basket hanging from the ceiling.
Soon we chanted our times tables together. When we were at "nine nines are eighty-one", Dame Berghuis said, "Billy! What are nine nines?"
Billy, who was looking outside, said, "Er, eighty."
Wrong!" said Dame Berghuis. "Go stand in the corner!" Billy picked up the Dunce cap and stood in the corner.
Dame Berghuis told us the Inspector was coming tomorrow. Everyone was nervous. [PC]

Thursday 11th, July, 1861
It was a very dreadful day. The School Inspector came and I was shaking - I even nearly fainted!
The first test was handwriting. I had no problem with that but I think my friend Jessica Michels got into a lot of trouble with her handwriting.
Next was physical education. The weights were a bit heavy, but no worries; everyone succeeded. The Inspector left at 5:30pm and he gave us a pass. I was so happy and so was the teacher and everyone else. We got a half-day break for the next day, and I got home very excited. I told my parents what happened and they were just too proud that they forgot that it was my birthday today. My sister had to remind them. I had a lovely new, freshly-baked cake. My friends Tania, Nabila, and Mimi came and I got the biggest piece of cake. It was the happiest birthday I ever got thanks to my family!! [PB]

Monday 18th, September, 1863
It all began with school. We all had to learn times tables. I was quite poor and we only had one teacher at our school because there was only enough money for one.
We had to write sentences over and over again. When it was break we didn't have much time to play.
When we were doing our tables the teacher saw a boy called Calvin not paying attention. Miss Rubber said, "Go in that basket, Calvin!" Calvin had to go and he was hanging from the roof in the basket! [PL]

Monday 18th, September, 1869
Today we had physical education and somebody dropped their weight on my foot, and they had to stand in the corner with the dunce cap on. At play I played skip-rope with my friend. Ma'am said an inspector was coming in two days. She looked quite worried. [SK]

Monday 6th, June, 1871
It was a horrible day. I accidentally spilled a bit of ink on my work and, for the first time, I wore a Dunce's cap. I looked like a buffoon standing in the corner! I felt like I was a dodo! [TdG]

Monday 18th, September, 1878
Dear Diary,
As soon as we came in it was arithmetic. Dame Battram was waiting for everyone to come. Luke got hung from the ceiling in a basket because he hadn't concentrated on his arithmetic. Dame Battram was very strict. The school says, "a strict teacher is a good teacher", but I felt scared.
Next we did vocal gymnastics. It was very boring. [HJY]

Tuesday, 1885
We practised all our work because at 3:50 the Inspector was coming. Mrs Fath was very worried.
When the Inspector arrived he gave us hard words to say like, "Round the ragged rocks the ragged rascals ran". He gave us hard times tables, too.
After he went we had a two-day holiday! [JB]

Monday, 1890
I played with hoops and marbles today.
Dustin Smith got in trouble and the teacher put him in the basket. He had been looking at a picture and not doing his work.[ED]

Monday 5th, September
Today was a bad day in the morning. We did our times tables. Susan didn't know her times tables and she was just day dreaming so she had to get three straps. After that we had to do chanting.
During play I played with hoops. Susan got bullied by older girls so I went to help Susan and we had a fight with the bullies. When we went to the teacher, the bullies would not tell the truth so we got hung up in the basket. Our teacher always believes older girls! [ST]

Monday 20th, September
Today is the start of school. Dame Charlotte is my new teacher.
We all got our quills but then a tall girl came and snatched my my pen away and I couldn't snatch it back. I needed my pen because the Inspector was coming to see us writing.
When I played with my marbles outside at break, this tall girl came up to me again and kicked them away and laughed. I felt so sad. I didn't know what to do.
This is the start of me and my revenge on her! [ZZ]

Monday 23rd, September, 1893
Today was a great day, especially when Miss Battram told us we could use pen.
Everyone was surprised when Thomas Inking came back to school and warned us all not to go to Grammar school because we'd get bored with all that grammar!
It was quite a hard day for Miss Battram. During the physical gymnastics session, Anna wasn't paying attention to Miss Battram, so Miss Battram put her up in the basket! [PO]