Every weekday, British parents and carers take children to school and pick them up again. The talk is fast and full of school words, and new families can feel lost at the school gate. Learners who translate directly from their own language may say "my son is in class three" or "school food", when British people say "Year 3" and "school dinners". In this episode: • The school run itself • What children take to school • Uniform and school years • Chat at the gate • Listening lab • Practice • Self-check questions with answers Key phrases from this episode: the school run — taking children to school or collecting them (casual) the school gate — the entrance where parents wait and chat drop-off — leaving the children at school in the morning pick-up — collecting them in the afternoon See you at pick-up time! — see you this afternoon The bell's gone. — the bell has rung, so school has started (casual) Have you got everything? — a check before leaving I'm doing the school run today. — I'm taking the children a packed lunch — food from home in a lunchbox a lunchbox — the box for a packed lunch school dinners — hot lunches cooked at school a water bottle — a drink bottle for the day PE kit — clothes for sport lessons; PE means physical education (PEE-EE) a book bag — a small bag for reading books and letters a reading book — a book the child reads at home a permission slip — a form a parent signs to say yes, for example to a trip a letter from school — a note to parents Don't forget your water bottle. — a reminder I've signed your permission slip. — I said yes uniform — the special clothes for a school Real British English: the complete spoken course for learners worldwide — modern British accent, everyday grammar, phrasal verbs, idioms, slang, he/she/it for things, and real conversations at home. Listen, repeat out loud, then take the 52-question quiz. Audio voiced with AI from an original script by Dr. Rashmi R Nair.