Sam’s school – vocabulary

bullying – deliberate intimidation of a person or group
to pick on someone – to single out a person for repeated unkind treatment or unfair criticism
to get picked on – to be an individual / a group who is repeatedly treated unkindly within friends = among friends, within groups of friends perhaps
lax – adj – relaxed; not sufficiently strict, severe or careful
a homework-planner – this is one of numerous forms of diaries or workbooks introduced by schools to encourage pupils to record their homework etc. In many schools in the UK it is produced weekly so that teachers can add comments which are read by parents, who, in their turn, can also write in comments.
petty – trivial
to be put in isolation – the person putting the question says ‘oh dear!’ because this phrase has connotations of being separated because of an infectious illness, or violent behaviour. It seems a bit excessive for a pupil who has forgotten or mislaid his homework planner.
"What if your parents are working?" A rhetorical question meaning a consequence has not been thought through properly, for instance, if parents are unavailable for consultation.It indicates that Sam considers the reaction inappropriate, as it can remove the pupil for the whole day for the sake of an oversight.
How does it fare? = how does it do / perform, what results does it get?
eg How did you fare this morning = how did you get on this morning, ie did you do well or badly?
to fare well / badly – to do well / badly, to perform well / badly in a specific way or time period
a teacher’s pet – a pupil who is a particular favourite of an individual teacher. plural teachers’ pets
provision for gifted and talented pupils, sometimes shortened by teachers to G and Ts (short for gin and tonics!). Special work designed to stretch (=challenge) able pupils
catch-up sessions – classes outside normal school hours (eg in the lunch hour) during which pupils can complete work which should have been done earlier
uptake – the number of pupils making use of facilities or choosing to do some sport
to go on – to happen, to take place
An assembly – previously a corporate act of (usually Christian) worship in schools followed by information about sports results, etc. They are held much less often now because many large schools find it impractical for large numbers to meet daily. In other schools there is unease about holding religious services, so a moral element is presented which does not necessarily have a link to a faith. In others stories and ideas from several faiths are included.

In a question about a school ethos, one might expect words such as caring, open, inclusive, high-achieving.

Sam speaks quickly and makes a few mistakes.
I have chose to do = I have chosen to do
There is assemblies more often – There are assemblies more often
He accidentally refers to a boarding school as a boring school, which he corrects!

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