‘Brave’ Lulu, four, is only child in her class

A GIRL of four has started school as the only pupil in her reception class.

Talula Howard was meant to be joined by two other children when she started at South Stoke Primary School in September but they pulled out before term began.

She now spends a lot of her time at school with teachers, scootering in the playground or playing maths and phonics games in a play area at the back of the school.

Talula, who is nicknamed Lulu, said: “I don’t like playing all by myself but I’m brave with it. I don’t have many children to play with yet.”

The school is smaller than most with only 31 children on the roll and has just three classrooms. It combines reception with years 1 and 2, meaning Talula spends lessons in the classroom with children ranging from five to seven years old.

She also joins them for breaks and lunches in the playground, where she likes to play with her friend Isla.

Talula, who lives in Wallingford with her parents Laura and William, is young for her year, having been born in May and is 10 months younger than the next youngest pupil.

She spends less time in the classroom than the older children, having four 10- to 15-minute lessons a day while her classmates’ lessons can reach up to 45 minutes. The rest of the time she is looked after by teacher Claire Wadsworth or teaching assistant Charlotte Hearne for learning by play or art at a paint station outside.

“I love drawing and painting,” said Talula. “I like doing snakes and snails and their curly tails.”

Miss Wadsworth said: “Normally when the children have done their teaching input they would go and play together but obviously there is no one for Talula to play with. She is coping with it really well.”

The last time the school had just one reception pupil was in 2009 and Miss Wadsworth believes this year’s circumstances are a one-off. She said: “We do have a few year groups that are very small but then we have a really big year 2. I think it’s just a freak year.

“I think that nobody knows we’re here and during covid I didn’t get to go out to the nurseries and remind people.

“I know it’s also a low birth year so are there fewer children this year. We do have a lot of children who join us midway through the year so I’m hoping that it won’t be all the way through.”

Miss Wadsworth believes Talula’s outgoing personality means she has coped with the age difference better than other children might.

She said: “Talula is very chatty and very keen and she wants to be involved with education.

“The difference in age can sometimes make a difference but not this year. She has just slotted in. She really enjoys school. She didn’t want to go home on Friday.

“She’s having quite a unique reception experience but I think she is still getting the essence of it. She’s still getting the play, being sociable and chatty.

“She’s learning a lot from the other children like vocabulary. She’s learning lots of words that she probably wouldn’t hear in a reception class. In some ways, it has slightly benefited her.”

Talula has brought in items from home to show her class, including magazines and a ukulele on which she played the nursery rhyme Wind the Bobbin Up.

Mrs Howard said: “She is always coming home from school telling me how great her day was — she doesn’t stop chatting.

“She tells me all sorts of things, about who she is playing with and who she isn’t playing with. Talula has quite a confident personality which has really helped her settle in.

“We chose South Stoke because it is a small school and with rising class numbers, we wanted her to have the best pupil-to- teacher ratio. I suppose we have ended up with the best possible.”

Don’t miss First Class with pictures of new starters at all the local schools only in this week’s Henley Standard.