SOME say it was a lot easier in the olden days.

But pupils at St Edburg’s School in Bicester learned how hard it could be for little ones as they got a taste of 19th century life.

Teachers turned the clock back by asking children to turn up dressed as maids, chimney sweeps and other icons of 1800s Britain for a Victorian Day.

Jaya Lane, eight, pulled on her pinny and got scrubbing the floors as she found out what life would be like as a maid.

She said: “We have been playing with marbles and dressing up as Victorians.”

Her friend Kacey Laidler, who also enjoyed a game of marbles, said: “In our classrooms the desks are all lined up like in a real Victorian classroom.”

Alfie Adams, who turned up dressed as a chimney sweep, found out what life would have been like for boys his age who were sent out to work in Victorian times.

The 11-year-old said: “I think it’s a very good learning experience because our topic is Victorians and it is going to help us in our work.

“The teachers have done a really good job of acting.

“We have been learning about Victorian punishment.”