Posheys – CALLUM STANFORD

High Hopes

Gronk was not interested in his studies so he invested his time in posturing and posing. He stood tall in his smart clothes and considered himself well-to-do with a gritty edge. Mimicking toffish bluster, he tried to speak with the cut-glass accent of real Posheys. Even as a teenager, he was intent on ascending to something better, despite social mobility being frowned upon in the Snook. He wanted to be as narcissistic as the Posheys. His manufactured image carried the reward of sometimes allowing him into Poshey conversations. The impending uplift in status would stand him in much better stead compared to the idiots who actually studied. He viewed swotting with contempt and anyone who thought reading books was a way of bettering themselves was a fool in his considered opinion. Rather than going to boring lessons, he regaled loud stories about himself within earshot of Posheys in an attempt to garner favour.

Snobbier-Than-Thou

The problem with Gronk’s ambition was the school streaming system. As an Outsider, he was automatically in the lower sets and excluded from the all-important Snobbier-Than-Thou course. Whilst he accepted Outsiders should generally be prohibited from this part of the curriculum, he thought exceptions should be made for outstanding candidates such as himself because he was not like the other Outsiders. He was aspirational and dreamed of the opportunity to learn snooty qualities.

Know Your Place

The Snook should have been a model of respectability, but it had a reputation as a hotbed of snobbery and prejudice. Pleasant tree-lined streets shielded large houses from the roads, although there was some smaller housing for the less well off. It had been popular with the rich and even famous over the years, which enhanced its standing as the place to be. An obsession with status grew in the Snook and a natural order emerged. Separation was the order of the day, so everyone knew their place.