Home > The Bash Street Kids

The strip is about class 2B of Bash Street School, a fine institution where the teacher and the headmaster still wear mortarboards and gown s. The class contains 10 students:

• 'Erbert - A shortsighted boy who can see perfectly well without spectacles. But with them, he is as blind as a bat.

• Fatty - A boy that can never stop eating.

• Danny - The leader with the soul of a pirate. Wears a skull and crossbones sweater that his grandma knitted him, and a floppy red school cap which indicates his rebellious nature. He is quite crafty with his own sort of intelligenceIntelligence is a general mental capability that involves the ability to reason, plan, solve problems, think abstractly, comprehend ideas and language, and learn. While the definition and importance of intelligence is an issue of some controversy, especia.

• Spotty - A short character who is often compared to Christmas puddingChristmas pudding is the dessert traditionally served on Christmas day in the United Kingdom (especially England) and some other Commonwealth countries. It is sometimes known as plum pudding though this can also refer to other kinds of boiled pudding invo. He is quite handy when he wants to be, and his attire (like his extraordinarily long tieA necktie (usually just called a tie is a piece of material worn around the neck. The modern necktie's original name was the four-in-hand tie. It is usually a dress requirement for businessmen and probably the most common father's gift in the world. The m) often helps the kids out in tough situations. In the 1981Events January-February January Sarawak Chamber found January 1 Greece enters the EEC January 1 Palau becomes self-governing January 4 Sheffield police arrests Peter Sutcliffe, the Yorkshire Ripper January 16 Protestant gunmen shoot and wound Bernadette D Beano Book, it was revealed that Spotty has 976 spots.

• Wilfred - An interesting boy, with thoughts hidden behind the depth of his green jumper. He often resembles a tortoiseFor the band, see Tortoise (band). Chersina Dipsochelys Furculachelys Geochelone Gopherus Homopus Indotestudo Kinixys Malacochersus Manouria Psammobates Pyxis Testudo Tortoise is the name given to the land-dwelling reptiles most of whose body is shielded and has a mystery about his neck that he never reveals. Whenever he takes off his jumper all we see is a vestA vest is a type of men's garment. The term has different meanings in the United Kingdom and the United States. In the UK, a vest is an undergarment typically taking the form of a white sleeveless T-shirt. When worn without anything on top, it may be jocu up to his nose.

• Toots - Sidney's twin sister and the girl of the class and the youngest. A classy tomboyA tomboy is a girl who behaves according to the stereotypical gender role of a boy. This can include various things: Wearing non-feminine clothes, typically for comfort or practicality. Enjoying boy's stereotypical games, interests and activities, such as who can be as bossy as Danny when she wants to be, but has more of a heart than any of her friends. She is very tough and the boys have no problem letting her join in their games.

• Smiffy - The naive, somewhat dumb one who often confuses genders and nouns. He can be very kind and aware of things, but most of the time he can't even remember simple sums. He has two brothers, Whiffy and Normal Norman.

• Plug - The hideously ugly one who uses his face to his best defence. He's so ugly that when he pulls a face he becomes handsome. He also has a good sense of humour . His name comes from the word pug. He later appeared in his own comic, called simply 'Plug' ( 1977 - 1979), which starred him and his two pets, Pug, from Pup Parade, and Chunkee the Monkey. His name used to be Pug - the L was added when Smiffy had a spare one when spelling the word "sily". Plug's "real name" was first revealed as "Percival Proudfoot Plugsey" on the cover of 'Plug', although earlier issues of the Beano give him the name Claude.

• Sidney - Toots' twin brother and the keeper of a dozen animals. He wishes to become a vet when he grows older because he knows more about animals than anything. Sidney always has spiky hair resembling a chimney sweeper's brush in which he takes pride.

• Teacher - never "Teach" although sometimes "Sir" - is also worth a special mention for having to put up with Class 2B all these years.

• Cuthbert Cringeworthy - The brightest child in the class, a teacher's pet that tends to be bossy, rude, and spoiled . He has a name for every letter of the alphabet. His first appearance in the strip was in 1971. He looks very much like Teacher (a play on the DC Thompson comics' tradition that pets look like their owners (e.g. Dennis the Menace and Gnasher) and his status as teacher's pet).

• Janitor - The school's janitor. He hates litter and rule breakage. He seems to enjoy bossing Winston about.

• Winston - The school's cat. He is often seen mopping the floor with Janitor.

• Head - The pompous and portly school headmaster. He is very fond of tea and biscuits.

• Olive - The school cook, who first appeared in the strip in 1980. Everyone hates her food, as the ingredients for it include items such as old books and the like. On the other hand, she has a high opinion of her cuisine.

Some of these characters are referred to only by their occupation; for example Teacher, Head, etc. This is an example of what some might call surreal and bizarre British humour - in one strip, the headmaster's brother's name is Mr. Headsbrother. Each child's (and teacher's) parents look almost exactly the same as the child.

The comic has had various spin-offs over the years, including Pup Parade, Simply Smiffy, The Sidney Comic, Plug and Singled Out. Summer specials and Bash Street Kids Annuals are also published every year.