Bridges or chasms? Children’s writing at primary–secondary transition

The view of the curriculum given by the Mock Turtle and the Gryphon challenged all of Alice’s preconceptions about the nature of education. A curriculum plan in which the number of lessons decreased every day would not, in most quarters, be regarded as facilitating pupils’ progress, though it gave the Mock Turtle and the Gryphon additional time for extra-curricular activities, such as games and dances, about which they were most enthusiastic. We never learn whether they made comparable progress in academic subjects such as ‘reeling and writhing’.