That was where I was going when I left home. Taborio is situated on three and a half hectares of land surrounded by sea on all sides or reef-mud at low tide except where it is joined onto Nootoue village on its southern end. It was a girls’ school of just over a hundred boarders, and conducted by the Sisters of the Congregation of the Daughters of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart. There was nothing spectacular about the place except for its timetable. Girls spoke English at all times except for one hour after afternoon work. When I arrived in Taborio there were Forms 1-4 but in the following year Form 4 was phased out and the Colonial Form 3 examination was introduced. This examination was taken by Form 3 in the five secondary schools in the Gilbert and Ellice Islands Colony. The subjects included: English, Arithmetic, History, Geography and Health Science. The girls also learnt needlework, typing, singing, music (musical instruments, recorders, mouth organ and others). A primary section was attached to the school with just three Classes 2, 3 and 4 for limited numbers only. The primary section was phased out in 1965, the year I left. Drama and figure-marching were very much part of Taborio in those days: drama for the College’s prize-giving at the end of the year and figure-marching for its annual sports day in early August. Extracurricular activities in a school depended on the talents and generosity of staff. There were only four Sisters, and didn’t they work hard!

The girls in Taborio came from all over the Colony, the majority from the Catholic islands of Butaritari, Abaiang, Tabiteuea and Tarawa. The Ellice girls were mostly daughters of government workers from South Tarawa or those whose parents were working on the phosphate mines on Ocean Island and Nauru.

The day began with a ‘call’, a prayer and then Mass. Charges were followed by breakfast and then school. After lunch, there was a break of an hour and then study and the afternoon lesson. There was work followed by drama and music. After charges were the evening meal, prayer, study and bed. The lights went out at 9.30. The weekend programme was slightly different. Saturday morning was general cleaning, and the midday meal was held outside in the open as the dining room was still wet after the scrub. There was personal washing and sports. The school’s four teams competed against each other: Fatima, Lourdes, Carmel and Issoudun. The games were basketball, volleyball, tennis, other ball games, and races. The afternoon charges were usually weeding and watering the gardens, serving the meals, and getting firewood from the bush. After the evening meal were prayers and the movie. The movie was the highlight of the week. For this reason the girls tried to speak English because one would get bad marks for speaking Kiribati. With more than three bad marks one would stay in the classroom to do homework while the rest enjoyed the movie. The Sunday programme was more relaxed. After Mass at nine in the morning was singing with Father Hirsch, a French MSC, the parish priest for North Tarawa and the College, who taught us hymns. After lunch there were sports for those interested, reading for the bookworms and letter-writing to parents and penfriends.