ABSTRACT
Rashda attends a large infants school of 350 chiļdren in a now decaying, residential suburb of an industrial city. Gradually, the poorer Edwardian houses are being demolished and replaced by smart council houses and flats. In this area the school is a focus for stability, although the demolition and rebuilding, with concomitant change and mobility, produces constant alterations on the school roll. Not merely in the names of the children attending, but in their ethnic origins and social backgrounds. It is not unknown for stray dogs to roam the streets and rubbish dumps, but the school itself forms something of an oasis, with its neatly laid out gardens and buildings contrasting markedly with the nearby untidy railway yard, where lorries off-load scrap. Not far away can be seen small factories and metal-smelting works.
