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Article: Little Nellie passed test of time; AS RECORD examination results again fuel the debate over standards in schools today, Maureen Messent delves into the exercise books of a teenager from 100 years ago and discovers an accomplished account of life at the turn of the last century.
- Article from:
- Birmingham Evening Mail (England)
- Article date:
- August 28, 2000
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2000 Birmingham Post & Mail Ltd. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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THE year was 1900 and, at Handsworth Board School, a little girl who wore a pinny over a smocked frock was writing a stern letter.
She was Nellie Cox, aged 13, daughter of a well-to-do Weaman Street gunsmith Samuel Cox, who lived with his family in Hampton Road, off Birchfield Road.
And the man she had in her angry sights was General Kruger, the leader of the Boers in the war then raging in South Africa.
Sir, wrote the patriotic little Birmingham child in beautiful copperplate.
I have read part of the results of the war which have appeared ...