School's Out!

School's Out!

Summary

As the new school year begins, Jack Sheffield prepares for an even more eventful year than usual. A new teacher is appointed, and before long tongues start to wag.

Meanwhile, five-year old Madona Fazackerly makes her mark in an unexpected way, life changes dramatically for Ruby the caretaker and, in the village Coffee Shop, Dorothy Humpleby plans a dirty weekend.

It’s 1983 - the era of the new CD player, Microsoft Word, the McDonalds McNugget, cabbage patch dolls, the threat of a miners’ strike and a final farewell to the halfpenny piece.

Jack has to manage a year of triumph and tragedy…

Reviews

  • School and village life is painted with compassion and an exquisite sense of detail, deftly balancing humour and tragedy.
    Choice magazine

About the author

Jack Sheffield

Jack Sheffield grew up in the tough environment of Gipton Estate, in North East Leeds. After a job as a 'pitch boy', repairing roofs, he became a Corona Pop man before going to St John's College, York, and training to be a teacher. In the late seventies and eighties, he was a headteacher of two schools in North Yorkshire before becoming Senior Lecturer in Primary Education at Bretton Hall College of the University of Leeds. It was at this time he began to record his many amusing stories of village life as portrayed in Teacher, Teacher!, Mister Teacher, Dear Teacher, Village Teacher, Please Sir!, Educating Jack, School's Out!, Silent Night, Star Teacher, Happiest Days, Starting Over, Changing Times, Back to School and School Days. He lives in Hampshire.
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