
The start of the new school term has long been viewed with horror by returning children - and as these photos taken in September 1938 show, not much has changed since then

Dressed in their brand new woollen blazers, the collection of black and white images show children being waved off to boarding school at London's Paddington Station by their equally unhappy families.

Poignantly, the pictures foreshadow the scenes of a year later, when thousands of children packed onto platforms to be evacuated to the country in preparation for the Blitz - which began in earnest in September 1940.

Scroll down for video

Back to school: A collection of images from 1938 show children being dropped off at the Paddington railway station ahead of boarding school. Here trunks are unloaded from taxis as the pupils prepare for their departure

But in 1938, and with Neville Chamberlain proclaiming 'peace in our time', war seemed a long way off with the children instead left downcast, as they stood in their traditional school uniforms, at the prospect of a return to the classroom.

With many of Britain's boarding schools located in the countryside, children are seen preparing for a long journey with two friends seen sharing a magazine.

Another curly-haired boy is pictured purchasing a newspaper from a newsstand on the platform of the station.

But while the feelings of the children are clear, for the parents, emotions were mixed - some seemingly delighted to wave their offspring off while others are left downcast at the moment of parting.

One photo shows a crowd of jolly mothers and fathers waving enthusiastically as their sons and daughters pull away from the station in a traditional steam train.

Well turned out: Many of the youngsters are dressed in traditional British school uniform complete with woollen blazers, ties and flat caps

Family affair: The children were accompanied by their parents and often carry nothing more than a humble suitcase for their belongings

On-board entertainment: This boy purchases a paper from a newsstand at the platform of a London station

Let me see! These young friends share a comic ahead of their long journey together on the steam train

But in another shot a father is seen wiping a tear from his eye with a handkerchief as his son leans from the train window to wish his parents one final goodbye before he departs.

In a separate image a smartly dressed boy looks downhearted about returning to school while another is given some pocket money by his mother before he returns to class.

The photos show the last time London's stations were used to pack children off to school before the Second World War and just 12 months later, the same parents were waving off their children as they were evacuated.

This time though, it wasn't just middle and upper class families who gathered on the platform, with Operation Pied Piper, which got underway on the 1st September 1939, sending more than 3.5 million people to safety in the Shires.

See you soon: This father can't hide his emotions, wiping a tear from his cheek as he says goodbye to his son through a window

So long, farewell: A jolly group of mothers and fathers wave cheerily as their offspring depart for the start of the school year

Blues: One smartly dressed boy looks downhearted about returning to school (left) and another is given some pocket money by his mother