Had David ever been at school he might have had a photo such as this taken at some point. Now he's at college (nearly through his first 4-week block) he's got plenty of good reasons to be thankful that he never WAS at school.

As one of the oldest in his class he was shocked that the 17 year-olds (who only a year ago were in the bosom of the state education system) feel that their education (at least as far as maths and english are concerned) has largely expired. Their unwillingness, along with their inability makes them appear a sorry lot in a classroom. What they appear out of the classroom isn't much to write home about either. Having the misfortune to be a part of this particular class David was, along with the rest, in receipt of a written caution (three of which gets you removed from the apprenticeship) because, in spite of the fact that David and one other man are lodging OFF campus, it would be discrimination (and that's bad of course) to single out the particular class members who, on Tuesday night drank themselves silly in the on-campus beer-drinking facility and then romped around to the annoyance of the (lady) Principle. This, in the light of many extended family-member's insistence that school is the best place to get an education is baffling to David. It looks to him like what they DID get educated in could well be done without.

That the 'business studies' part of the course is so 'me'-focussed is hard for him to deal with. He has, however, taken the honest way through the questions stating that the main reasons for his training as a farrier are that he might work up the gifts given him by God and employ himself to the Glory of God and for the support of a hoped-for wife and family, able to make generous financial contributions to the running of the church and the spread of the Gospel. I don't suppose they've read many personal statements like that before. The tutors respond well to a student who is willing to put in extra hours to refine forging skills and complete work (even after hours) and one who studies and is able to answer (correctly, more often than not) the questions in tests is also appreciated.

That the experts who are qualified to train the nations children in schools up and down the country can produce such people (and these are not the worst - these all have the required 5 gcse's...) at such massive cost to tax payers (and they don't get any better as the years go by, in spite of a firm belief in the dogma of Evolutionary theory....) has to make you consider that you might be better off home educating.

As for this next week, David is looking forward to the exams which he will be sitting and to spending a weekend with a friend (who in his own educational setting is finding similar time-wasting and inefficiency frustrating) before returning home to continue working.