Text 1: The morning the bus did not come, by Maya Rees

An original contemporary blog.

The rain began just as I left home. By the time I reached the bus stop, water was running from my hair and into my collar. The shelter was designed for about four people, but twelve of us squeezed inside while the wind blew rain through its open sides.

The 7.45 bus did not appear. Every few minutes, someone stepped out to look along the road and was sprayed by a passing car. My blazer sleeves were soaked, and I had to hold my school bag under my coat to protect my books.

At 8.25, the bus finally arrived. The driver said that the river road had flooded and he had been sent the long way round. The bus was already crowded, so I stood beside the doors with rainwater dripping from my clothes and gathering around my shoes. The windows steamed up as soon as we set off. I reached school after registration had ended and spent the first lesson in a damp uniform.

Text 2: The long white road, by Edward Lister

An original memoir extract written in a nineteenth-century voice; a period simulation, not an archival document.

In this memoir extract set in 1892, the writer remembers walking to school during a severe winter.

Snow had fallen throughout the night, covering the road so completely that my sister and I could not see where the path ended and the fields began. We set out early, but each step sank above our boots and our progress was painfully slow.

Beyond the mill, the wind drove loose snow against our faces. My fingers became too stiff to fasten my coat, while my sister’s wet boots rubbed her heels. On the hill, a sheet of ice lay beneath the snow. We held one another’s arms, yet both of us slipped several times.

The school bell had already sounded when we reached the village. Our teacher took pity on us and allowed us to warm our hands beside the stove before beginning our work.

Explain briefly how bad weather affected the journeys to school in the two texts. Use evidence from both texts and make clear which text you mean.