Gwil Halp?

[amuly]

Okay. So, here's the thing. I was totally working on Gwil today at work (because, hey, I tutor little kids for a living, and while they're doing a page of math problems I would just stare at the wall if I didn't have something else to do. Don't judge.) and I abruptly realized that there's no way in hell I'm going to be able to write the next few chapters without help from a British consultant.

I don't need a Brit pick so much as I need a random British person that I could fire questions through PM, twitter, or e-mail.

For example:

DO YOU HAVE TRAPPER-KEEPERS? THEY ARE THESE THINGS:

Generally excellent things of AWESOME that keep all your folders and notebooks and pencils and junk for school. American kids fight over the COOLEST ONES.
DO SUCH THINGS EVEN EXIST IN BRITAIN?

Or, as another example:

WHERE DO YOU BUY SCHOOL UNIFORMS?!?!

See, I've done all this research on education in Britain, and yet, there's shit I just don't know. I know you guys have to wear uniforms to both public and private schools, but I have no idea where you get said uniforms. Do you order them from the school? Do you just buy generic skirts and trousers and polos? Is there a Ministry of School Uniforms?

THESE ARE THE THINGS I DON'T KNOW.

So, guys, I'm begging you: Halps. If you want more Gwil, I need help. Please? ;___;

(And if anyone points out that little old American me should have never undertaken writing a fic where I have to describe, in intimate detail, the school system of the UK, I WILL CUT THEM. HARD. IN THE FACE.)

Halps? Feel free to comment, PM, tweet (@amuly21), or e-mail (booklover[at]cfl[dot]rr[dot]com) me. 
The sooner someone helps, the sooner I can finally get some momentum going on this series again!

Comments

[museme87.livejournal.com]

One fantastic resource you could use is hp_britglish. I can't recommend the folks over there enough. The community is geared towards authors of HP fic, but should it ever come up that you need info for another series, you can always leave that bit out.

Also, little_details is another great go-to place.

[amuly.livejournal.com]

I'll dress my icon up in Siri/Remi colors, and hope no one notices, then ~.^

I write enough HP stuff not to feel guilty ;P Thanks for this!

[museme87.livejournal.com]

Most definitely!

[epithalamium]

There's also britpickery, they don't really care why you're asking them and they're really helpful. :)

[xrai-namere.livejournal.com]

This probably isn't a lot of help, but...
I grew with a British education system (but not in the UK), with school uniforms, and 11 years of schooling and A Levels and all that.
We bought our school uniforms in special stores that sold that kind of stuff.
Think Harry Potter. They didn't just have Madam Malkin to choose from. :)
And I found this: http://www.eparenting.co.uk/shop/school_uniform_suppliers_uk.shtml
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/School_uniform#Wales
http://www.schooluniformdirect.co.uk/default.aspx?AspxAutoDetectCookieSupport=1
Can't help you about the trapper-keepers though.

[amuly.livejournal.com]

Ah, thank you! I just saw something about BHS on the LJ comm, and sure enough, it was in the first link you sent me ^.^

[amuly.livejournal.com]

IGNORE THIS, EVERYONE ELSE:
(Just copy-pasting stuff so I can find it myself)

recess - break or break time
lunch - dinner/school dinners
pageants - can't think of an equivalent in a school setting, but it's a word I'd only use in the context of a beauty pageant
bathroom - toilets
cupcakes - buns

6.Uniforms are a must -the parents would have paid for it.

2. Lessons are normally taken with one teacher and you just stay in that teacher's classroom, it is like your own. You have trays beneath/in the desk (probably in, considering it's the 1960s, probably flap-lifting desks, made of wood). In mine, there were about three groups of 25, and we never mixed, just stayed in our set classes with the set teacher in our set room.

"primary school"


writing papers? -- Essay writing, god yes. Coursework- counts towards exam marks in some subjects and as are often large projects are also immense causes of stress.

preparing class presentations? -- Did this perhaps twice a year but in different subjects. Usually on topics that are less likely to appear in an exam, and work in pairs or small groups.

No pop quizzes we do have tests though, usually at the end of each topic/module been through, and are given warnings about. They are technically not important, though they are meant to give an impression of what you've understood, and are mentioned, or referred to on reports.

extra credit projects?
And are there such things as "make up" tests--if a student screws up but has mitigating circumstances, i.e., passed out in the middle of taking the test, etc.?

- Nope. But if talking about national exams like NEWTs or OWLs-- teachers can submit paperwork with your exam attempt if there were any mitigating circumstances, such as sickness. But hard to know exactly how the paper is marked then, and I've not heard of anyone who've marks had improved greatly by having submitting one.

[choccy-grl.livejournal.com]

If you still need answers to any particular question just pm me. It's been a while (understatement of the century) since I've been at school but...

:)

[a-silver-story.livejournal.com]

You can PM me, ask on Twitter or email me at a_silver_story@hotmail.co.uk any time for anything at all, no matter how big or how small (oh fuck- I'm writing a ballad...). You can add me on MSN if you want, for instant Brit Monkey Dancing.

My mam is a primary school teacher, and it wasn't that long ago since I was in primary school myself. I also help out there when I'm at home.

School uniforms: We bought ours through the school itself, but when we got to secondary school we bought them from a shop called 'Moses', which is a national chain and provides for local schools around each shop. Some primary schools are more lax on uniform rules than others - my first primary school asked only for us to wear the jumper. When we moved house and moved schools, we were expected to wear either black trousers or skirts with a polo tshirt with the logo and with a school cardigan or jumper. Girls could also wear a checked dress if they wanted, but usually they had to have the cardigan in the winter.

Trapper-keepers: We called this 'satchels', and we had to buy them through the school if we wanted one. They were in the school's colours and had the school's logo on the front.

In reference to the comment above: recently a lot of primary schools have undergone some redecoration. Trays are, in some schools, now in a chest of lots of little drawers at the side of the classroom with name labels on. Also, what's becoming more and more common in schools if for a class to have a 'teaching assistant'; somebody who is qualified to teach the children a few things, do one-on-one learning support for children who need it, one-on-one reading and also playground duty. These assistants do sometimes have direct contact with parents, if the child is a problem for example, but aren't usually present at parents' evenings and such.


Anything else, a tweet, PM or addition to MSN or whatever and I'll see what I can do :)

[analia-the-1st.livejournal.com]

I'm totally no help with this, since we left England before I was old enough to start school, but I just had to comment on your "trapper keeper".

1. I LOVE it! Ghostbusters FTW!

2. That is not what I grew up calling a trapper keeper. My trapper keeper was more like those 3 ring binders that zip shut on the outside. Regional differences are rather interesting that way.

[rawr-justme-x.livejournal.com]

I know a ton of people have already commented, but I'm currently in the British school system, so pm me whenever if you need to.

[creadigol-lili.livejournal.com]

While I'm not British, the Australian schooling system sounds virtually the exact same as the British one does (expect for what the certificates are called and the whole year 13 thing)

We wear uniforms, usually brought from the school or from a shop.
Trapper Keepers are probably what we call Backpacks/School Bag (the English might have a slightly different name for it) and usually you would keep your pencil case, lunch box and exercise books and binders in them.
When I was in primary school (which was sadly awhile ago) we would hang them in the 'locker room' which was a bunch of hooks all in a row you hand your school bag off.

Hope this hasn't confussed you further, because I know that there are a few tiny differences between Australia and Britain, but really not many.

But handy info, re Cardiff/Wales in particular.
I have a friend who is actually a teaching assistant in Cardiff right now. From what little I heard off her, kids in Cardiff do get taught Welsh from primary school... but propably don't until year 3 and onwards, because my friend mainly works with years 4-6.

Hope this helps a tiny bit, and I can't wait to read more Gwil soon :)

[electrictoes.livejournal.com]

RARGH.

You, I fear, are talking about me :P

I'm working with the wee ones at the moment, not the big ones. They've just started school and they're learning Welsh!

[creadigol-lili.livejournal.com]

Ah sorry hun :(

[sedeka.livejournal.com]

again I know you've had loads of replies but I'm Scottish (ok Brittish ;-p) so feel free to fire any questions my way by pm or email - lorraine@hunter2009.orangehome.co.uk

[arclevel.livejournal.com]

I'm American, and therefore not much help, but I wanted to note that either what you call a Trapper Keeper is totally different from the Trapper Keepers that existed in the late '80s and early '90s, or else that's not a clear picture of what it is. It just looks like a moderately flat bookbag that snaps shut. *I* don't mind the difference, but for the Brits who are commenting that it's a satchel or schoolbag, I don't think they realize what they're looking at.

Are they still popular among the littler set? I teach 9th grade (it's my first year) and haven't seen one, but our school requires that students have two three-ring binders for all their classes combined (four classes per binder). Maybe TrapperKeepers just don't fit that mold well enough.

... Sorry to be of no use whatsoever in your Brit-checking. I hope you get what you need, since I love the story!!

British School

[fireheart118.livejournal.com]

Tons of people have already commented but whatever. I'm British but I went to a private school so I don't know if I would be as much help as I think state schools do stuff a little differerently but if you wanted to ask anything you can send me a message or whatever as anything to help because I love the Gwil stories.

[hab318princess.livejournal.com]

school uniforms: the basic stuff such as trousers, white shirt and black shoes / socks can be bought from supermarkets now, they also do jumpers etc in school colours but without the logo... school jumper we got when we went to parent's evening before he started and can be ordered via the school office if he outgrows them - yes, I have a son in junior school, why do you ask?

system: infants school and junior schools can be separate or together in a primary school (my son is in junior, having moved up from the separate infants) and then senior school after year 7 - and there my knowledge ends until junior goes to senior school :D

HOpe htis helps

[amuly.livejournal.com]

Ahhh excellent thanks so much! This huge response has been so helpful, and I hadn't even thought about parent's evenings, which we have in the US, too, so I know what you're talking about there.

Also, your comment made me think of something else that I just realized I have no clue about:

What are the grade levels/ages? Like, in US it's Kindergarten: 5-6 years old, 1st grade 6-7 years old, 2nd grade 7-8 years old, &c.

[hab318princess.livejournal.com]

pre-schools (similar to Kindergarten) can start from age 2 / 3
Reception year in primary school starts age 4 - proper school, year 1 is age 5, year 2 is age 6 - these three years are infant school
year 3 is age 7 (my son is in year 3 and turns 8 this year), year 4 is age 8, year 5 is age 9 and year 6 is age 10 - that is the last year in junior school

after that it's senior school :D

[super-sub.livejournal.com]

We have book bags at nursery and primary schools which are like the picture you showed.
As for school uniforms the school often sell the jumpers and PE tops. There is often department store in a major town or city that stocks all the schools in the area uniform.
Hope that helps.
Really love Gwil days.

[electrictoes.livejournal.com]

I see you have had many offers.

I work in primary schools, actually in Cardiff, so if you need to know anything else, feel free to ask :D