Bella was sure that Freddie’s mum leaving was the reason for his staying in. This time of year must be especially difficult and she hoped Nina could get to the bottom of it. Bringing her mind back to her classroom, she heard Amias snigger at Oliver’s use of his fingers and Bella shot him a warning look. He was skating on very thin ice this week.

‘Seventeen, miss.’

She quickly double-checked in her head. ‘Brilliant, Oliver, well done. Try and do it in your head though next time. And, Amias – if I see that pencil going anywhere it shouldn’t, I’ll be moving you down the chart and you’re already on orange. If you go down to red, you’ll be off to see Mrs White and I can’t imagine she’ll be happy to see you for the second time this week.’

Leonie returned from the toilet and Hannah made her escape. Another hand shot up.

Bella reverted to her normal cheerful tones. ‘Yes, Briony.’

‘Can I go to the toilet when Hannah gets back, please?’

Internally, Bella repressed a giggle. Ninety-nine per cent of her time was spent shepherding children to and from the toilet, but she was determined to finish the maths lesson that had been going on for about a million years and teach them at least one useful thing today.

‘Yes, of course, sweetheart. Now, Amias, why don’t you stop showing Richard your tongue because we’ve all seen it before, and tell me how you would work out our next sum?’

After much cajoling, including opening the window to wake them up, and downright bribery with the promise of an early story, the maths lesson was finally finished.

Just as they were about to break for a much-needed lunch, Mrs Brody, the Year 1 teacher, knocked on Bella’s classroom door. ‘Good afternoon, everyone. Good afternoon, Miss Moore.’

‘Good afternoon, Mrs Brody,’ the children chorused, and Bella felt a swell of pride at their good manners.

‘Good afternoon, Mrs Brody. What can I do for you?’

‘It’s an exciting day, children. I have with me the Christmas play scripts and details of the roles you’ve been assigned.’

The children began shifting about in their chairs, stamping their feet and all talking at once. The noise level rose about eighty decibels and Bella clapped her hands together in the pattern she’d taught them. Most of them fell instantly silent as they copied her. A few delayed claps followed, and the chatter dissipated. Mrs Brody spoke again.

‘I can see you’re all excited, but you’re going to have to wait until after lunch to learn your parts. Miss Moore will tell you everything you need to know later this afternoon. We agreed all the children would be told at two o’clock, Miss Moore, if you remember.’

‘Yes, I remember. Thank you.’