Did your school have a metal climbing frame in the gym hall? What did you call it?

[BooksWithPrettyCovers]

In the depths of Glasgow, we had a Kelvin frame and I presumed this was a universal term... DH is claiming that it is not and Google isn't backing me up.

It's like the dinner school debate all over again

We called it that in my school.

Also Glasgow

www.tts-group.co.uk/spectrum-gym-climbing-frame/1009403.html?cgid=Primary-PE-Gymnastics

This sort of thing?

'The apparatus' - north London.

Though we sometimes used the wooden bars part when it was flat against the walls, in which case they were 'the wall bars'.

I remember having gym lessons on the apparatus many times. I couldn't climb the ropes, but was good at balancing and loved climbing the frames. Can't imagine primary school children being allowed to climb up well above the teacher's head nowadays!

Did you also have wooden benches that hooked onto the bars?

The Bars - 70s Kent. As high as the ceiling and I fell off breaking my foot age 9. Unimpressed our PE teacher stuck a small plaster on it and
let me sit out the lesson then sent me back to class. After a long day my Mother collected me - unusual as I walked home by myself, but she has famous 'whiskers' that sense when things are off. By teatime foot huge. Off to hospital and in a caste for weeks. My Mum went mental at the school who were frankly unperturbed. The Bars stayed.

Apparatus (also Glasgow, 80s) Very rarely used but oh so exciting! Don’t think we ever got free reign, only did boring things with the lower parts!

Apparatus. I’m from South West Scotland.

On a related note, I have a Glaswegian friend who called School dinners ‘dinner School’. Did you say that too @BooksWithPrettyCovers?

Monkey bars

Apparatus, north west England. Ours was wooden and I don't remember it ever being used.

This is almost exactly what I remember, though put ropes were separate and hung from the ceiling.

Interchangeable - The Bars or The Apparatus

Bloody loved it when the apparatus came out! Until we had to drag the smelly, heavy blue mats out.

Ooops, sorry that was in late 1970s early 80s Essex

Yup, apparatus. Very very exciting in the later 80s!

Apparatus. London area. Late 70s

And I forgot, the apparatus was wooden

Those ropes! Hardly anyone could climb them. They were usually tethered to the wall with a big piece of fabric. And these deathtraps. No crashmats in the 80s.

Ours was wooden and called the wall bars. Apparatus referred to all the equipment collectively, e.g. the horse, the benches, the mats, everything.

The Apparatus. Which sounds quite sinister, in retrospect, although it was of course a huge treat to use at the time!

@OneOfTheGrundys exactly as you have described. Surrey/hants border. Loved it. We used it loads in our school. We'd take it in turns to assemble it (pull it out from the wall and lock it in place). Was mainly wooden, with ropes and some metal bars for climbing. The only bit of PE I loved.
Also tended to get the horse out and a springy jumping ramp to get on it. I think we'd basically set up a course around the hall and have to do a bit of everything. Never mastered the rope climb though, disappointingly.

Does anyone know WHY it was so rarely used? I adored it but it was only used about twice in my whole schooling. Why so rare? Didn't seem that much faff to hinge out and secure...

The apparatus.
Being asked to "wheel out The Apparatus" was almost as much as an honour as being asked to wheel in the Big TV.

Because nothing breaks kids like falling from height @SmellMySmellbow
Such a shame so much fun if you don't fall off.

'The apparatus', the ropes smelt absolutely vile. Presumably from the hundreds of kids who had swung from them with the rope between their legs

Banned from use, Golf?? How sad! :o

Apparatus or Bars - SW London, 1980s