Doctor Birch and His Young Friends

"Doctor Birch and His Young Friends" by William Makepeace Thackeray is a humorous story that takes place in a boys' school near London in the early 1800s, where the narrator, an assistant teacher, shares funny stories about life at the academy. The story makes fun of how schools were run back then, and the different personalities of the teachers and students. Some important people are Doctor Birch who isn't a very good principal, Jack Birch, his show-off son, and Prince, who is actually the one in charge. We learn about boys like George Champion who is brave and gets everyone's respect, as well as Master Hulker who isn't great at schoolwork but is good at other things. The story shows what it's like to be a kid with all the friendships, fights, and weird things about school, ending on a happy, but also slightly sad, note.