Breaking Step

For the dedicated teachers of St. Jude’s Primary School, the new academic year promises to deliver more of the usual – recycled government initiatives, regular bouts of vandalism and the inevitable mix of classroom successes and frustrations.

Here, the lives of staff, pupils and parents collide to create an almost surreal collection of situations, many humorous, some poignant and a few downright bizarre – be it Robbie Haslam’s unique hairstyles, the theft of Christmas lunch or fleas in the carpet – all demanding wisdom, sensitivity and the artful skill of plate-spinning.

As the new millennium approaches, deputy headteacher, Beverley Dickinson, takes stock and faces a difficult decision; in spite of the increasing pressures and responsibilities, does she continue to embrace the familiar or does she break step with her colleagues and veer off into a not-so-certain future?