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Teacher #13
Back to School
The year is 1969 and Jack Sheffield is a young teacher in need of a job.
In a room full of twenty-nine other newly qualified teachers, he's overjoyed when he's appointed to Heather View Primary. Jack is excited to start his first year there and to begin shaping young minds in a beautiful new location on the edge of the Yorkshire Dales.
But Heather View isn't as idyllic as it first sounds. In fact, it looks more like a prison than a primary school. With less than adequate funding and a head teacher who doesn't seem to care, it's no easy task to give the kids the education they deserve. But Jack's determined to do just that.
Full of warmth and good humour, Back to School is like taking a nostalgic walk through the past to a simpler time...
_____________________
What readers are saying:
***** 'I felt I was transported back in time. This was a joy to read.'
***** 'By chapter 3 I loved this book so much that I ordered two other titles by this author!'
***** 'So uplifting and joyous.'
_____________________
Praise for Jack Sheffield:
'Wry observation and heartwarming humour in equal measure.' Alan Titchmarsh
'Overflowing with amusing anecdotes.' Daily Express
'Amusing adventures at the North Yorkshire village school.' Choice
'Jack Sheffield's in a class of his own.' York Press
In a room full of twenty-nine other newly qualified teachers, he's overjoyed when he's appointed to Heather View Primary. Jack is excited to start his first year there and to begin shaping young minds in a beautiful new location on the edge of the Yorkshire Dales.
But Heather View isn't as idyllic as it first sounds. In fact, it looks more like a prison than a primary school. With less than adequate funding and a head teacher who doesn't seem to care, it's no easy task to give the kids the education they deserve. But Jack's determined to do just that.
Full of warmth and good humour, Back to School is like taking a nostalgic walk through the past to a simpler time...
_____________________
What readers are saying:
***** 'I felt I was transported back in time. This was a joy to read.'
***** 'By chapter 3 I loved this book so much that I ordered two other titles by this author!'
***** 'So uplifting and joyous.'
_____________________
Praise for Jack Sheffield:
'Wry observation and heartwarming humour in equal measure.' Alan Titchmarsh
'Overflowing with amusing anecdotes.' Daily Express
'Amusing adventures at the North Yorkshire village school.' Choice
'Jack Sheffield's in a class of his own.' York Press
368 pages, Paperback
First published September 10, 2015
4 people are currently reading
58 people want to read
About the author
Jack Sheffield
42 books77 followersJack Sheffield (born Jack Linley, 1945) is a British author who wrote a series of books of fiction about the headmaster of a village school in a fictional Yorkshire village. The stories are set from the late 1970s to the early 1980s and attempt to portray life in Yorkshire as it was at that time.
He was trained as a teacher at St John's College, York and later became head teacher of two schools in North Yorkshire and then senior lecturer in primary education at Bretton Hall.
He took up writing after retirement, and his first novel "Teacher, Teacher!" sold 100,000 copies
He was trained as a teacher at St John's College, York and later became head teacher of two schools in North Yorkshire and then senior lecturer in primary education at Bretton Hall.
He took up writing after retirement, and his first novel "Teacher, Teacher!" sold 100,000 copies
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
December 20, 2020
Another great read from Jack Sheffield. Lovely stories about real people, he is such a gifted writer.
September 15, 2020
When the Deputy Head of the new school greets you with "welcome to hell" you know you're in for a rough ride.
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Jack Sheffield is 24 and is a teacher. His current school is closing and he is up against another 28 candidates for a new teacher post.
He is assigned a position at Heather View Primary alongside Penny Armitage and little do they know what the year has in store for them.
As he settles in he can see that the teachers really want what's best for all the kids, to some it's a job but to most they can see the difference they are making. There is little money to put towards extra items which sees Jack buying some of his own supplies, but he doesn't mind as its serving an important purpose, the children's education.
This book is great. It's well written and an amazing journey through the history of the education system.
📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚
Jack Sheffield is 24 and is a teacher. His current school is closing and he is up against another 28 candidates for a new teacher post.
He is assigned a position at Heather View Primary alongside Penny Armitage and little do they know what the year has in store for them.
As he settles in he can see that the teachers really want what's best for all the kids, to some it's a job but to most they can see the difference they are making. There is little money to put towards extra items which sees Jack buying some of his own supplies, but he doesn't mind as its serving an important purpose, the children's education.
This book is great. It's well written and an amazing journey through the history of the education system.
September 10, 2020
The author has written his well respected Jack Sheffield series since 2004 detailing an account of a teaching career which began with Teacher, Teacher, set in 1977, when Jack was appointed to his first headteacher role. Back to School, however, takes us right back to the very start of Jack Sheffield's career when, as a new teacher, he takes the first tentative steps on his life long career.
I think Back to School is a charming story and set, as it is, in a rather deprived primary school on the edge of the Yorkshire Dales, there's also a lot of warmth, good humour and the occasional pull on the old heartstrings. I hate to admit it, but I was still at primary school in 1969, so I was taken right back to my own school days, queuing up to give my pre-decimal currency dinner money to the teacher, and spending my break times playing skipping, with my friends, in the playground. I read through the whole of the book with a huge smile on my face remembering things I had long since forgotten.
There's a gentleness about the story which in a way belies the strength of the story telling as everything feels so easy, it's just as if you and the author are having a good old chat over a cup of tea in the staff room of Heather View Primary School. I loved the way that all of the teachers came to life, from the curmudgeon of a headmaster, to the wastrel of a caretaker, and all good solid Yorkshire folk in-between, there are lots of lovely characters who, quite simply, made me smile and occasionally laugh out loud.
Back to School is a delightful nostalgic trip down memory lane and adds another dimension to this successful series. I am sure that fans who have followed from the beginning will be delighted to go right back to the start of Jack Sheffield's career, and new readers can just as easily continue the next book in the series having a good idea of where the story had its beginnings.
I think Back to School is a charming story and set, as it is, in a rather deprived primary school on the edge of the Yorkshire Dales, there's also a lot of warmth, good humour and the occasional pull on the old heartstrings. I hate to admit it, but I was still at primary school in 1969, so I was taken right back to my own school days, queuing up to give my pre-decimal currency dinner money to the teacher, and spending my break times playing skipping, with my friends, in the playground. I read through the whole of the book with a huge smile on my face remembering things I had long since forgotten.
There's a gentleness about the story which in a way belies the strength of the story telling as everything feels so easy, it's just as if you and the author are having a good old chat over a cup of tea in the staff room of Heather View Primary School. I loved the way that all of the teachers came to life, from the curmudgeon of a headmaster, to the wastrel of a caretaker, and all good solid Yorkshire folk in-between, there are lots of lovely characters who, quite simply, made me smile and occasionally laugh out loud.
Back to School is a delightful nostalgic trip down memory lane and adds another dimension to this successful series. I am sure that fans who have followed from the beginning will be delighted to go right back to the start of Jack Sheffield's career, and new readers can just as easily continue the next book in the series having a good idea of where the story had its beginnings.
May 10, 2020
Such a pleasant book to read. I enjoyed meeting and understanding the different members of staff in the school. The pupils were interesting with their different backgrounds and upbringing. I would recommend this book for anyone wanting to go back in time and enjoy the simplicity of life back then.
January 26, 2022
This has got to be one of the most charming books I have for a long time. It brought back the feelings I used to get from reading Maeve Binchy’s books. The Yorkshire accent took a bit of deciphering for non-english natuve speaker like me. Love the characters and the settings. It makes me want to find other books in the series.
April 27, 2020
Such a nice read. Love his books - they are an escape from the worries of the world. An enjoyable relaxing read
January 16, 2022
Love these books!
July 19, 2022
I found the shoe-horning in of cultural references very painful after a while, but regardless a pleasant enough story of teaching when I was a child.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews