RH: In that example that you give about parting from the parents at an early age would he have had pupils at an earlier age than you would now?

ZR: Oh yes, I mean at one stage they even had children of three and four for a while - very young children. But I think it was in the 'problem parent year'; I think at one stage he felt that parents created so many problems for their children if you could get them away earlier there would be less problems, I think. But I never really discussed it with him and that was quite a short-lived time. I suppose that was in the forties, roughly, but it never carried on when I was a student at Summerhill. We never had very young children - six probably would have been the youngest and we would take a six-year old boarder now, depending on the child very much, but there is no doubt that some six-year olds are perfectly happy to be away from their parents. When I say perfectly happy there's going to be times of an evening occasionally when they might cry and feel a bit homesick and obviously when they first arrive for the first night or two they might, but that's not traumatising them. I have to say that from experience, and certainly with my own children as well, that we as parents put rather too much stress on how great we are for our kids [laughs]. I think that as long as we love them and support them and are there for them that's really what they want [laughs]... and send them plenty of money when they want it.

RH: If we've got it.

ZR: Well yeah, but you know I'm talking about money for pizza and noodles and things.

RH: For those of us who have not taken part in a democratic process like the one at Summerhill it may be hard to imagine how it works. Do you not have the power of final sanction, something along the lines of 'what if all the children voted for ---. I just wouldn't be able to allow that'? Is Summerhill democracy really total?