BACK TO SCHOOL: Tearful start for first time pupils

PUPILS full of emotions on the first day of school.

It was a morning of mixed emotions at Progressive Primary School in Phuthaditjhaba, Free State on Wednesday, 15 January.

There were tears of joy on parents' faces, while the pupils were excited to start school.

Some pupils were armed with freshly sharpened pencils and shiny new backpacks, while others cried and demanded to go back home.

Little Siyamthanda Nhlapo's first day of school was off to a tearful start as he cried uncontrollably and wanted to leave school with his mother.

Dressed in his brand-new uniform, Siyamthanda (6) was overwhelmed by the unfamiliar surroundings and the prospect of being separated from his loved ones.

As his mum tried to comfort him, Siyamthanda's cries got louder and louder, with his small body shaking with each breath. His mum, Nobulawa said she had mix emotions.

"I'm happy to see my child go to school for the first time. However, his tears break my heart. It's difficult to leave him behind with tears falling down his face," she said.

But Siyamthanda was not the only one who didn't want to be at school.

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Boitshepo Stemmer (4) ran all over the school refusing to take instructions from her mum and new teachers.

According to her mum Mamorapedi, Boitshepo is not familiar with many people. The mum said she used to play alone at home.

"She feels comfortable when she's only around her family members," she said.