CHILDREN from Churcher’s College Junior School took a step back in time to the Victorian era to find out what schooling was like 100 years ago.

After meeting their school mistress, children added Victorian waistcoats or pinafores to their uniforms. And in the classroom they had to sit on their hands in silence while the teacher talked.

They used sugar paper to make toy hats and slate boards to write their names.

In the playroom, a vast array of wooden toys were on display, including handmade rocking horses from the richest of Victorian homes to hoops made out of barrel metal and skipping ropes made from window sash pull ropes.

After a morning of learning about the Victorians, children enjoyed a lunch packed in paper bags and tins and tied with string.