Up and down the country, schools have broken up, freeing their pupils to have endless days having fun or, when it’s raining, wondering what to do. “Mum, I’ve got nothing to do,” must be six of the most dreaded words in the English language at this time of year. Then later, some of those pupils wish school would start again because they are bored and sometimes do not see their friends.
There is one school in the country that had a longer break than any. It’s the school in the village of Burston in Suffolk. The Burston School Strike began in 1914, and it remains the longest-running strike in British history. It was not led by workers, but by schoolchildren—standing in solidarity with their dismissed teachers, Tom and Annie Higdon. The Higdons were well-loved by pupils and local parents, but they had clashed with the local school management and church authorities over issues like poor school conditions and bias.
When the Higdons were sacked from their posts at the small village school, 66 of their pupils walked out in protest. They set up a makeshift school on the village green and continued their education under the Higdons’ guidance. The strike quickly gained national attention and support from trade unions. Donations poured in, and by 1917, a purpose-built “Strike School” was constructed, funded by public contributions.
The strike school continued operating until 1939, that’s 25 years, a powerful symbol of grassroots resistance, educational reform, and the community not being pushed around by the authorities. And it’s still there today as a museum to what happened.
I know all this because in 2014 they celebrated their centenary, and I asked Robert Hyman, our musical director, if he would write a short musical about the story. To cut a long story short, he did so and it was wonderful. It brought in all the characters and led us through the events. We duly performed it, complete with period costumes on the green beside the school. It was a beautiful summer’s day, and a big crowd, including parents, turned up to watch.
Over the years Theatretrain has explored a lot of historical events including one show which explored the whole of the twentieth century – but that’s a blog for another day.
This summer I hope you don’t hear too many, “I’ve got nothing to do”s.
