Lost Property and the Nose That Knows

In primary school, items of clothing go missing all the time. It is particularly prolific in Key Stage 1.

I always remember this one time when a child’s jumper went missing, and it became a constant topic for discussion amongst the staff as his mum would not accept it had just disappeared.

We had tried all the usual techniques, both mother and child had gone through the lost property bins, they had pretty much checked every other child’s jumper on the way out of the school gates, we had searched PE kits, looked in every cupboard and even had some old Year 6’s searching their homes in case it had appeared overnight. 

Look, we get it, school uniform isn’t cheap, and it is a real annoyance when you have just bought a new uniform for the academic year and, within the first couple of days, it goes missing. But parents, please help us out and write your child’s name in their clothes! We literally do not have the time or energy to go searching high and low for a garment of clothing for months on end.

But this mother was like a dog with a bone, she wouldn’t let it go. Every pick up, “Have you found the jumper?” The start of every school day, “Has the jumper shown up?” Once, when I was sat in the school traffic trying to get to an appointment, she tapped on my car window and asked, “Any news on the jumper?” It would have been quicker for me to have knitted her one than to continue this search.

After some time, one of the TAs in school suggested getting a young boy in year 2 on the case. Apparently, he had the nose of a blood hound and could match any smell to any child in the school. If one of his classmates dropped one, he would be able to announce who did it. When PE kit was left behind at the end of the day and not bagged up, he would go round sniffing the discarded garments and match the child to their item. Even lunch boxes he was able to follow his nose and identify which box belonged to which child. The TA said that the case of the missing jumper would be solved by our young super-smeller.

With his nose to the ground, he began to go through each classroom’s lost property bins. He moved quickly and efficiently; this young sniffer dog was in his element. Having gone through every room in school, he approached the jumper’s last known location (my classroom) turning the lost property bin upside down, he let his olfactory system do the work. Within seconds, he located said jumper.

The jumper had literally been under our noses the whole time.

With his work done, he reunited the jumper with its owner and sat down patiently waiting for his treat. (Ok, we might have made that last bit up.) He got a merit point and was the school hero for a few days.

The lesson?

Never underestimate the power of a good nose.

And always, always, write your child’s name in their clothing — or prepare to be haunted by one missing jumper until the end of time.