Rose remembered playing truant in the early 1900s. Like many children, she found the discipline of school difficult to cope with. Ada admits to 'larking about' at Two Mile Hill: 'In assembly when we were singing a hymn like 'Abide with Me', a few of us 'ud put in a few funny words we all knew beforehand. The teacher 'ud ring 'er bell [saying] "who done it?" and they'd never find out.'

She also remembers that children would disrupt the class when bored, 'they'd tip the inkwell over someone that was studying, "please miss, I've 'ad an accident, I've spilt my inkwell over such and such." The teacher couldn't say they done it deliberate and the lesson 'ud be postponed.' Letting off stink bombs was another favourite ruse: 'After a couple of minutes you'd start to smell it and it 'ud stink the place out. Lessons 'ad to be stopped, all the windows 'ad to be opened, and we did go out into the hall, the smell was so bad.'

Pupils could be physically punished for bad behaviour. Charlie Dallimore and his friends were caned for carrying out a pupil strike at their school in St Jude's in 1914. As the ringleader was struck by the cane, 'wallop, he had three on each hand. Now Sam Brick fainted on his last one... I came out in the next group, two on each hand, he [Mr Higgins] would catch you across the wrist and it swelled up immediately.'