Mohandas was the youngest of four children. He started school in Porbandar, but when he was seven years old, Karamchand got a new job in the city of Rajkot, 120 miles east of Porbandar, so the Gandhis moved.
At his primary school in Rajkot, Mohandas was not one of the best students, but he always arrived early. If breakfast was not ready m the morning, he ate food from the day before so he would not be late. He was a shy boy and he was very frightened of ghosts, robbers and snakes. He had to have a light on in his bedroom at night and he did not like to go anywhere in the dark.
After primary school, Mohandas went to Rajkot's Alfred High School, where his lessons were all in English. In his first year there, Mohandas showed that he already had a very honest nature. A British official came to visit the school and Mohandas' class were asked to spell five English words. Mohandas wrote 'kettle' wrongly, so the teacher told him to copy the right spelling from another child. But Mohandas refused.
The children at Alfred High School were Muslim, Hindu and Parsi. Gandhi later said that he had first seen at school how important it was for people of different religions to live together peacefully. He was interested in religion and when his father talked with his many Muslim and Parsi friends, Mohandas enjoyed listening to them and learning about their different beliefs. But he did not believe in God at that time and he stayed away from the Hindu temple.