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Morning break is the term for recess at most prep schools. Normally it is about 11:00 am and weather permitting it is a time frentic activity for about 15-20 minutes. It is a fun time and the children really look forward to it. The children have spent the morning in their classrooms and this is a time to let off a little steam. Normally the boys choose a variety of active games. Girls often persue more sedate activities during the break. Here the popular games depend on the school and the age level. The younger boys may head for the playground. Many schools have suitable platground equipment. Older boys may choose a variety of active games. Some but not all all are sports related. Cricket batting using a tennis ball is popular. Various tag and a kind of dodgeball game are also popular. Some schools offer a little snack.
Morning break is the term for recess at most prep schools. It is a srandard approach in primary schools around the world. And state schools in Britain have similar morning breaks. Normally it is about 11:00 am, but this varies. A few schools do it at 10:45am. Weather permitting it is a time frentic activity for about 15-20 minutes. It is usually roughly halfway through the morning classes. It provided a way that children were able to burn off a little restless energy.
Boys at most schools just wore their normal uniform for morning break. This was the standard everyday school uniform. Very few schools had the schools change for morning break, This was partly due to the ime factor. It would eat of a good chunk of the break to have the children change. This was in part unecessary as many schools had hard surface play areas where the children spent the break. Here there were a few exceptions. Individuals schools had many different aoprosaches. Some schools had the children changed into sneakers so as not to scuff of their sandals or shoeds. One school had the children put on boliler suits when it was muddy outside. And during the winter term the boys would put on coats, although this as often not needed as Briish winters are not nearly as severe as American winters. There was aittle difference between day schools and boarding schools. Some boys at day schools often wore their blazers during the school day while at boarding schhols the blazers were commonly put away and saved for good. Thus you see boys at day schools playing in their blazers, subjecting them to some very hard wear which is one reason that they needed to look rather weather beaten by the end of the school year.
Morning break is a fun time and the children really look forward to it. For the younger children it is an important part of the school day as any other--perhaps more important. The children have spent the morning in their classrooms and this is a time to let off a little steam. And the best part of it is that they are free to do their own thing and be with their best mates (friends). Unlike the rest of the school day, besides a few basic saftey rules the children decided what to do. And they can, within reason, makes a much noise as they want. Morning break is not organized by the teachers.
The children are vey anxious to get outside for a little active play after the classwork. The weather has to be very bad before morning break is cancelled. A litt;e drizzel or chilly weathedr is usually not enoufh to cancel the morning break. Most schools wanted to children to burn off a little energy to help them settle doen for the rest of the morning classes.
All kinds of activities go on at morning break. Some of the children use the time to chat with friends. Others look forward to the opportunity to let out steam through frentic activity. There is a little rough housing with friends. All kinds of games take place which were especially popular with the boys. Here there is a surprising level of organization, but that required little supervision. Some games are more popular at some schools than others. Some are seasonal in nature and others seem to go in cycles. Children can be very scrupulous about insisting that the rules be closely followed. And there is always sports. This various by season. Cricket batting is popular, but at morning break the hard cricket ball is replaced with a tennis ball for safty sakes. Kicking about a football (soccerball) is perenial favorite. Rounders was popular at some schools. These activities are also affected by both gender and age.
While morning break is commonly a time for serious activity, not all the boys jumped into games of various kinds. Some boys are not sports mjinded. Others were just in the mood to run aeround. Some of the boys were quite willing to chat with friends and compare notes about the day's activities or favorite subjects. This some times involved groups or friends, commonly in the same class. Or we saw groups of two having as chat on a wide range of issues of interest. This was often, but not always boys in the same form. The subjects that come up run the cammit of topics that interest boys of prepschool age, including school activities, teachers, sports, popular TV programs (at day schools), toys, friends, and much more.
Morning break was normally different for boys and girls. Thos was nothiong the schools had anythong to do with. The children were free to us the time as they wanted, although for the most part they were expected to do something outside in the fresh air. Boys and girls, however, tended to chose different sctivities. Normally the boys choose a variety of active games. Girls often persue more sedate activities during the break.
Here the popular games depend on the school and the available facilities as well as the age level. The boys in the pre-prep may head for the playground. Many schools have suitable platground equipment. Older boys may choose a variety of active games that were suitable for the play ground. This was the preferred activities in the standard prep school beginning about age 8 years. Some but not all all are sports related. Various tag and a kind of dodgeball game are also popular. And of course there is a goof bit of miscelsbeous running around and chasing. There were also horse and rider contests. Older boys were more interested in sports. By far the favored sport was football, depening on the area used for the break. This was a sport thsat even the younger boys could have fun at. Cricket involved a little more advanced skill set. Cricket batting using a tennis ball is popular. This could be done in the school yard without damage or gitting hit from by the ball. Much more care has to be taken when usiung criket balls.
Some schools offer a little snack. But healthy snacks--no Cokes and crisps (potato chips). Often fruit like apples were headed out or some kind of biskit.
Morning break was a time for the teachers to have a break as well. They normally headed for the teacher's lounge for, of course, a cup of tea and a chat with their colleagues. A teacher or two, depending on the size of the school would be on duty to supervise the outdoor play and look after the children. Here of course it is not possible for a single teacher to be everywhere. So often the prefects had assigned or generalized respomnsibilities. Depending on the weather the school wanted the children outside running off a little energy. Thus at most schools the children were for the most part to stay outside. There was all kinds of opportunity for mischief if the children were left unsupervised inside, especially because most of the teachers were in the teacher's lounge. This was normally not a problem because most of the children wanted to be ouside, the boys in particular.
