BACK to school.

To some, they are magical words, sparking the excitement of another year of making friends, going on adventures and learning.

To others, they summon nothing but dread and foreboding.

Mum-of-two Marie Barnett Comley? perfectly captured the mixed emotions we have about the first day of term in this funny photo of her own little cherubs.

On the right, Amber is looking like she can't wait to get to St Peter's CofE School in Alvescot, proudly wearing her school polo shirt and cardigan; on the left, her big brother Raymond is looking a lot less certain about going back to St Christopher's CofE in nearby Langford.

For anyone who missed their subtle expressions, Marie joked: "One's excited to get back to the classroom, the other not so much."

Melissa Jones looks equally ambivalent about having to pose in her uniform for John Mason School in Abingdon while her grandmother Susan Gibbs took this photo.

However, Mrs Gibbs did reveal Melissa was getting ready for her first ever day at the school, so the picture is mandatory.

Michelle Barber's little girl Jesamine, meanwhile, isn't leaving anyone in any doubt about how she feels about her first day of school.

Mrs Barber told us Jesamine is starting this term at Pegasus Primary, near their home in Blackbird Leys.

When you get to wear a coat like that and ride a bike like that to school, why wouldn't you be excited?

Dawn Tivnan and Becca Collacott both took the opportunity this week to take us on a little trip down memory lane, sharing their own old school photos.

Mrs Collacott also treated us to a glimpse of her extremely 1980s hairdo in this photo of her last year at Larkmead School in Abingdon.

Slightly more up-to-date, Kevin Taylor sent us this snap of himself setting off for his first day back at school.

He didn't actually specify whether he was a teacher or a student so we'll let you decide.

Thanks to everyone else who sent us their beautiful pictures this week, they're all up on the Facebook page to enjoy.

For next week's challenge, we've been inspired by an after-school activity of years gone by – scrumping!

However, given we don't want to condone theft of fruit, we've decided to broaden it out to 'Harvest'.

Fields of ripening wheat, tree branches heavy with apples, wasps swarming around blackberries – you know the sort of thing.

Win £25

p Join our Camera Club which now has 260 members – by visiting facebook.com and searching for Oxford Mail Camera Club, which is sponsored by Jessops. You could win a £25 cash prize for the best picture of the week. See tomorrow’s Mail for this week’s winner. Meetings are held to share tips and offer advice from our professional photographers.