We pondered and prevaricated before bringing you the latest batch of shots of Year Five. The squeamish among you should turn away now. Depicting children scrubbing floors, polishing silver, manning a dolly tub, enduring corporal punishment, they are most definitely not for the faint-hearted. But, before you hold your hands up in horror and reach for the phone to call the authorities, we must put the record straight, dear readers. For, it is all in the cause of Victorian authenticity, when youngsters of a similar age would be put to work and made to don dunces' caps if they failed to catch on to the 3Rs. Even having their hands tied behind their backs if they dared to be left-handed!

The children, decked out in fantastically authentic Victorian garb, along with their bonneted and capped teachers, journeyed to Gunnersbury Park Museum to get a taste of what life was like for children in the nineteenth century. Horse and carriage could not be had in the necessary numbers, so the young scholars resorted to travelling by Tube. Needs must! They learned life was harsher than today, as child labour laws had yet to come into force. The pictures definitely tell the story and the children entered into proceedings with good cheer aplenty and were happy to endure some domestic tasks for the sake of authenticity. We also include a copy of Artemis' detailed account of the day. Before we go, we wish to include a little disclaimer 'no children were harmed in the making of these pictures,' lest the more litigious among you try and get us 'up before the beak.'