a quarter to eleven
To attach the preparatory to the senior school these three classes were known officially , on speech days and in reports , as upper , middle , and lower second . Philip was put in the last . The master , a red-faced man with a pleasant voice , was called Rice ; he had a jolly manner with boys , and the time passed quickly . Philip was surprised when it was a quarter to eleven and they were let out for ten minutes ' rest . The whole school rushed noisily into the play-ground . The new boys were told to go into the middle , while the others stationed themselves along opposite walls . They began to play Pig in the Middle .