Though Matilda has been assigned to the lowest class at Cruncham Hall Primary School, it soon becomes clear that she doesn't really belong there: she's way ahead of the other children when it comes to mathematical knowledge. To the astonishment of her teacher, Miss Honey, Matilda can recite her two-times table without any difficulty. In fact, she even knows all the other times tables by heart.

Even more impressively, she can do large, complex calculations in her head. Miss Honey is amazed and impressed. She thinks she's got a mathematical prodigy on her hands, a child genius no less. But as Miss Honey soon discovers, there's a lot more to Matilda than just sums and multiplication. She's also a voracious reader whose favorite author is Dickens.

During the interval, Miss Honey excitedly tells Miss Trunchbull all about the child prodigy she's uncovered. She says that Matilda should be moved to a higher class. But Miss Trunchbull's not interested. Thanks to Matilda's father, who's told Miss Trunchbull that his daughter's a troublemaker, the headmistress is strongly biased against Matilda and so has no intention of moving her to a higher class.

But Miss Honey's not prepared to let the matter rest. She visits Matilda's house late at night, in the hope of persuading her parents that their daughter would benefit from some after-school tutoring. This turns out to be a wasted journey, as neither of Matilda's parents is in the least bit concerned about their daughter's educational needs.