For almost a decade, a couple in north London have marked the first day of the new school year with tongue-in-cheek doorstep photos celebrating their two sons’ returns to the classroom.
Comedian Tom Price and his wife, author Beth Morrey, began the tradition with a snap holding a bottle of wine and some beer. It has since grown into elaborate set-ups – from hot tubs to golf clubs – which are now eagerly awaited by their friends and family.
Price said the photos on their Islington doorstep resonated because they captured the relief many working parents felt after the summer holidays.
He told BBC London: “Eight years ago we noticed this growing trend that people would post pictures of their kids on the front doorstep on Facebook. And it was always lovely, but we always felt that there was a story behind the camera, which was the grinning parents.”
@thepricetomPrice said they posted their first back to school picture on X, then called Twitter, and it went “crazy”.
He said it “tapped into a nerve” among parents who often faced juggling childcare and work over the summer.
“In this age of helicopter parenting, we still all feel like they’ve got to be doing something. You’ve got to put on a production for the kid,” Price said.
“So for me, and I think Beth, the release and the joy is my kids are going back to be with their people and to get on with school.”
@thepricetomAsked what their two sons, aged nine and 13, made of the tradition, the comedian said they would be “rolling their eyes” as they discussed picture ideas.
“What we actually say is, ‘no, no, we’re not celebrating you going. We’re gonna miss you so much. What we’re celebrating is you getting an education. Which is so important to us’,” he said.
“I think they see right through it, but that’s the line we’ve given.”
Despite vowing each year to stop, Price admitted they would probably continue until their youngest son left school because his comedian friends, including Robert Webb and David Gorman, have made increasingly creative suggestions.