Julie Jay: Forget their first day of school, the second day is the real test of fortitude

Whilst I was all tough talk on the first day of school, the second day was for me, the moment when I seriously considered scooping up my newly initiated junior infant and making a break for it

Julie Jay: "Everyone had prepared me for the emotions on day one, but on the first morning I had surprised myself with my steeliness, as we quickly grabbed a pic before Number One ran off to play with his friends"

Despite already attending an open day, nothing really prepared me for my son’s first proper day of school, when the uniform had been carefully laid out the night before and the lunchboxes filled with his meticulously curated content of grapes, cheese, a sandwich, coupled with some breadsticks, because we had travelled in Europe.

Even though Number One knew a rake of his classmates before going in, it was still surreal to see him milling around in the schoolyard surrounded by new faces and in the shadow of the new building that would play such a big part in his life for the next few years.