But when I went to 'big school' as an 11 year old in 1966, 'safety' meant wearing a lab coat to save your school uniform from getting burnt by the acids in racks on the bench, or scorched by the flame from the bunsen burner each of us had, for heating up test tubes full on interesting chemicals in the practical sessions. And of course wearing the safety glasses provided.
As well as our own 'experiments' in the chemistry coursework, large 'spectacular' or 'risky' experiments were demonstrated live on the front bench by the chemistry teacher whose name I think was Mr Auty.
One of the best used a large round cake tin with a small hole punched in the lid, which was used to demonstrate that for an explosion to occur, you needed exactly the right mixture of fuel and oxygen. The fuel was mains gas, which was supplied by a rubber hose connected to the laboratory bench gas tap - the gas was piped into the tin through the hole in the lid, for a few minutes making sure that the tin was full of gas, (with no air mixed in).
The tin was placed in the centre of the bench and a lighted match applied just above the hole, producing a tall bright flame as the escaping gas burned in the air.
The flame got progressively smaller as the gas was used up, so we thought that was the end of the demonstration and relaxed - then - BOOM! as the flame went inside the tin the gas air mixture hit just the right mixture needed for a loud explosion - which blew the tin lid right up to the ceiling. Excellent!
If you want to know how this worked - google 'Chemistry - demonstration of spontaneous combustion', but if you get into trouble I never told you about it!
Harry and Ron ended up going to see Hagrid for tea, and Hagrid seems a bit reticent about the details of their visit to Gringotts bank, which was in the news following a burglary where nothing was taken from the vault - odd!
Neville's barn owl brought him a present from his Gran - a Remembrall - which Draco Malfoy immediately took a fancy to - giving it back only when Mr Snape turns up in the nick of time.
Later - the class are taken outside to practice Broomstick flying - Harry seems to be a natural, managing to get his Broomstick to obey the Up command - and then chasing Draco into the air when he again 'borrows' Neville's new Remembrall, managing to dive after it and catch it when Malfoy spitefully threw it in the air - looks like trouble brewing!
Harry Potter is told off by Professor McGonagall - could be serious. and it's only page 160.
