to wonder if secondaries are really this bad?

I don't think there were detentions at my school at all. We were allowed to take blazers off.

We had a keep left rule in the corridor but it was fun and the teachers acted like funny traffic policement keeping us right. I liked it.

My DM was a teacher in the 70s when they still had the belt and she hated it. It was gone by the time I arrived.

Can’t take blazer off without permission in lesson time is technically a thing, but any teacher will give them permission as soon as they enter the room. At my school they can take them off at break.

Some toilets locked during lesson times but there are always some open for kids with toilet passes etc.

Fab. I was just pointing out that not all schools were like this in the 90s. Mine wasn’t.

I think it just depends on the school! I’m a few years older than you OP and all of this was true at my secondary school back then!

• Not allowed to take off blazers without permission and kids getting too hot, or opposite I saw earlier today, not allowed to put on jumper without permission

• Toilets locked during lesson time

• Having to walk in a certain way around the corridors, have heard some students have to walk in silence around school

Detentions were fairly rare at my school too. It was incredibly rare to forget your pe kit. You did it once.... never again.

I think the change in teen behaviour now may be a reflection of how the 80s kids experienced life. Maybe we were very controlled and bottled-up and so we are bringing up our kids to be a little more feisty?

I'm much happier too now that my son has the freedom to learn in his own way at home. I hated watching his own inner self being crushed into a generic schoolboy.

The nicest thing about homeschooling is that he sings while he is working. I love that and I am absolutely certain that he was not doing that in school.

Yes, in the UK. The Midlands.

Sexual assault in schools is very high so I imagine they've introduced this as a blanket rule. Obviously hugging a friend is innocuous but for many other people 'hugging a friend' is not and a standard rule to stop this protects vulnerable children.

I went to secondary school in the 90s and we had none of these things. We didn’t even have a uniform.

In the uk? Uniforms have been pretty standard since the 80s in the uk. I can't think of a single secondary near mine in the 90s that didn't have uniform. Mine was the last primary to introduce required uniform in about 1993.

We wouldn’t have got a detention for that. Detentions were very rare. I never had one. Forgotten PE kit or no homework would have got a ‘warning’. 5 warnings in one term was a lunchtime detention. Behaviour was generally good.

Detention for forgetting pe kit/homework etc...

This isn't new? This has always been standard.

Surely one way systems in small corridors when you have a school with 1,000 pupils is sensible and a safety thing?

The blazer thing is a bit bonkers imo but my school was the same and I’m 40 now. Seems standard and dc have coped fine. Teachers give permission in class to remove them.

toilets - dc should be able to go in breaks so shouldn’t be an issue but this is to stop truancy and bullying.

not sure why you’re so outraged.

None of this is true for dcs secondary school.

I used to be a secondary teacher and yes it was that bad that they had to bring in extreme rules to manage behaviour. I'm all for it but do appreciate it isn't for everyone. If your child won't thrive in such an environment probably best to try and avoid if possible.

Many kids don't have any boundaries or rules at home and school provide that. It's another secondary consequence from poor parenting.

I went to secondary school in the 90s and we had none of these things. We didn’t even have a uniform.

I’m not sure why you find those rules so shocking.
Kids have to wear their uniform. Obviously if it’s hot exceptions are made. In the Uk it’s rarely that warm. Wearing uniform is a good thing for kids. Gives them a sense of belonging, stops all the stressing about what to wear, helps them look smart.
Locking toilets during lesson time is to keep kids safe and prevent vandalism. You don’t want kids unsupervised in toilets. There’s a risk of bullying or them having a medical episode and nobody knowing.
Walking in a certain way around school is also a safety precaution. You see rules like that in any places there are crowds of people moving around. Train station escalators tell you to keep to one side for example. It’s the same thing.

Same. I read these threads and wonder where everyone else went to school back in the 90s. I was at a large secondary in outer London.
We couldn't take blazers/jumpers on or off without permission. We weren't allowed to wear big coats once on school property. Detentions for forgetting PE kits or fountain pens or maths equipment. I got a detention for forgetting my hymn book on a mass day. We were only allowed to wear certain colour socks. Definitely no trainers. No toilet breaks allowed during lessons.
So many things I see parents complaining about they seem to talk as if they're all new things. But pretty much every rule I read on here we had in the 90s at my school.

Unfortunately yes. It's a school for children who have been permanently excluded or have no school place. My son is in a small nurture group thankfully but its a pretty savage school, it looks like a prison and staff do bag searches before the children can go into the main building.

I've just taken my ND kid out. In the 90s school I went to, he would be happy and in school, but as things are now there's no way he can be there.

Problem is we don’t all have that luxury. I live in a very small town with one catchment secondary school. Our next nearest secondary school is 11 miles away, it is oversubscribed and there is no transport to it. Realistically, there is no other school that we would get a place at that we can get to. I’ve known a few people put other schools as their first choice, they’ve all been given a place at the local secondary.

Yes my DS's school is like this OP. Also detentions galore for the most minor things. I'm tired of it. Every day is stressful and my son is a good kid. He's also ND so it's super stressful.

The school my DH teaches at has “mixed” toilets. So she’s DS’s school. In reality they’re floor to ceiling doors and walks, one side of each (sinks are down the middle) has become de facto boys and de facto girls. In both schools. Doesn’t seem an issue to me.

My kids school doesn't have blazers, doesn't lock loos (although a teacher may not give you permission to go).
No rules re corridors that I am aware of.
Visit the schools and choose 1 you like.

I'm 34 and we had a one way system when I was at school. No blazers though.