Scholars Leaving St Andrew's Roman Catholic School, Dumfries (c.1901)

Dumfries
1901
Silent

A lively group of Scottish primary-school children plays up for the camera.

Some of Mitchell and Kenyon's 'school gate' films were more disciplined, but with these very young children the effect is much livelier, with the boys directly playing up to the camera and the girls being giggly and coquettish (aside from one at the back caught doing up her shoe). A second shot shows the over-excited children being marshalled by their teachers, but the chaotic impression remains.

Dumfries still has a primary school named St. Andrew's, but the present building in Craigs Road was opened in 2009. The old school, situated in Brooke Street, now hosts various arts and crafts businesses and a tearoom.

The Old School Yard

Children – unsung stars of so many Mitchell & Kenyon films – take the spotlight.

The more-or-less formal school parades (plus the odd sports day) collected here present a more regimented Edwardian childhood than the one which so often bursts into M&K's other films. The films capture a transitional moment in British education, with classroom provision extended in 1902's Education Act.

With a variety of educational models on display - local authority and church-run (Anglican or Catholic) - some schools are more formal or relaxed than others. As we watch them parade, it’s hard not to be reminded that much of this new generation, so full of life and hope, was destined for the trenches of World War I.