Abbotswood Primary, Yate & Ruishton Junior, Ruishton

This week was a bit more local than the previous few weeks, but only just. Monday morning saw me up at the crack of dawn and heading up the dear old A37 to the town of Yate in South Gloucestershire, just to the north of Bristol.

I hadn't been to Yate before and was not sure what to expect, but I needn't have worried. The school was lovely and the teachers and staff charming in the extreme, especially Jo Burton, my main contact. The group of Year 3 children were lively and very knowledgable about all things of a Tudor aspect. We had a fun morning with lots of laughs, and then after a really nice lunch from the kitchens, we raced through the afternoon. The final jousting session was a really good one with the girls winning, again after a "penalty shoot out", and claiming the coveted certificates. A lot of the staff were in beautiful Tudor costumes, many of which had been made by Jo Burton's other half - an upholsterer by trade! Should he decide to go into Tudor dress making, he could make a killing!

That evening I ventured over to the Dinnington Docks to see Matthew Applegate from Barrington Court. We discussed future events for us both. In fact, I should give him a ring now! I am sure I will...

Today found me at Ruishton School near Taunton for a return visit, almost to the day from my previous trip there. I was greeted by the Year 4-5 teacher Tim, a lovely bloke who I remembered from last time. This time was a group of about 33 children who were just so well behaved. They sat and listened brilliantly, laughed at all the right bits and then took part in a magnificent jousting tournament which the boys just managed to sneak a win on! Ruishton is a lovely school with such friendly children, teachers and TA's, and the head teacher is a really good sport, and didn't cry too much when I put him in the stocks.