If you were at primary school in the 80s

[isabellerossignol]

I've spent what seems like all morning printing off worksheets for my primary aged child. And I was suddenly struck by a vivid memory from primary school. Hand typed or handwritten worksheets that were printed on a machine, in the days before printers, with really poor quality paper and all the writing came out with a bluey/purple tinge.

I've had a Google and apparently it was called a Banda machine, and was used a lot in schools because it enabled relatively cheap printing. Does anyone else remember it?

The thing I remember most is that the printed sheets had a really strong, distinctive smell. If I could smell that now, I'd feel like I was 8 all over again.

Not all that long ago, The Stockpot (a kind of small school-dinner quality cafe chain in London) used to print off their daily menu on Banda machines. It was all tomato soup, omlette and chips, apple crumble... (also used to be increasingly cheap). A real blast from the past!

I remember the machine, I used it in my Secretarial Studies o'grade.

Typed with a manual typewriter (not even electric), on a wax sheet cutting out the letters, had to get it right first time. Then put on the machine, think we smeared ink onto the drum first then created copies using the handle to turn it. We were only allowed to do 5 copies.

Got an A. Life and exams were much simpler back then 🤣

Oh god seccy studies. Shudder....

‘I would like to book accommodation for Mr Smith on the 14th of May for two nights...’

I hated music and movement. But it was so exciting to walk to the hall and see the Apparatus was out. And if you were on first sitting for lunch, life was perfect!

I’m vest and pants...

I did my teacher traiing in 1991.
Photocopiers were in schools but expensive, and we had to ration how many copies we used. We were taught how to use the Banda machine, but it was rapidly going out of style.

We made and used a lot fo workcards, covered in sticky bacl plastic. The kids wrote the answers in their books, and the work cards could be used again and again.

I am frankly astonished at the photocpying that comes home. A4 sheet, in colour, with about 5 minutes of work on it, glued into an A4 book. So often I think you could save SO MUCH paper with 5 minutes of thought.

I remember it fondly. Taking home a Banda printed letter still warm and smelling of meths.

@Lordfrontpaw - blimey, I loved The Stockpot! (Grew up in Central London, 1980s)

@WeAllHaveWings - I t school called it “Office Practice and Businesss Studies” yo mshe it sound more enticing.

Business Technology here, with electric typewriters. V swish. My sister did it two years earlier and it was Office Technology. Prob 1989/87

Granny’s garden on the bbc computer was a huge treat. And the magic magic e melody which I still love!

m.youtube.com/watch?v=l-Gq17O-HRc

Lots of 'How we used to live' episodes on YouTube oh that’s interesting

@OhDeariedear I remember singing together

YES! Lots of teachers seemed able to play piano then, I was an army brat and there were at least 3 in every school I went to who could.

Not only did we have Lord’s Prayer every day in assembly we said grace at the start of lunch too!

One thing I do remember is many of our babysitters (so...14-17 when I was 7-10 so 50’s now? I’m 47) were taking “secretarial” courses either at college if they were 16 or older or if younger taking touch typing and SHORTHAND at school. I remember being fascinated by all the squiggles.

When was shorthand last taught? Used?

I seriously considered journalism as a career course and was told even at 14, which would have been 1986 ish that I’d still need to do a shorthand course at college, so they were still going then.

Does anyone remember hymns that were pre-printed on a very very large (larger than A3 I think) set of pages? They were wall mounted and involved a pulley system to get them down to change the hymn.

@AvoidingTheWineAisle Yes to the not-hymn hymns. We all enjoyed With A Little Help From My Friends until Wet Wet Wet put it back on the charts and it vanished from assembly without trace.

If you didn’t want to sit on the floor during assembly, you could sit at the side on the PE benches and play the recorder. Started honing my improv skills right there

“Did anyone else sing random songs in assembly alongside the standard ‘All things bright and beautiful’ type hymns? We sang ‘When I’m 64’, ‘Streets of London’ and I think various folky 60s songs our ‘groovy’, flares-wearing-in-the-1980s Headteacher must’ve liked”

Not in assembly but in music lessons. I was thinking about this the other day ... Maxwell’s Silver Hammer. Basically a chirpy little song about a serial killer. How was that ever appropriate 8yos?!

I remember Peter and Jane reading books and having a uniform apron we all had to wear at lunch!

@BikeRunSki I had my first ever avocado vinegarette in the stockpot just off Leicester Square. Always full of single men of a certain age, eating alone whilst reading the newspaper or a book, with a glass of house wine.

I remember the Heinemann Scotch maths books that we had to work through. I also remember working in a carousel type setup where there were 4 or more groups in the class and each group was doing a completely different activity in a different subject. None of us had much teacher support and there was definitely no teaching assistant. Another thing was the tv in its own cupboard on a trolley that used to be wheeled in to certain lessons. Every week or so we'd watch a programme in the hall with some words, bricks and a metal bin but I don't remember what it was called.

A uniform apron! We didn't have one of those, but we did have two pupils at each table from year 6 (as it would be now) who were the "servers". It meant being in charge of doling out the food from metal containers in the middle of the table. Most meals involved (reconstituted) mashed potato, except for Thursdays, when it was salad with cold meat, the sort that always had little rubbery tubes in it.

The most exciting thing ever was baking day, when we would bring our own aprons and ingredients, make some rock buns or melting moments out of the Be-Ro book, then take them home at the end of the day in a greaseproof paper bag.

The best thing about SRA cards were when you were on the rota to tidy them up during break time and you were allowed to choose a friend (or a crush!) to help you. Some of my most romantic memories are from SRA tidying sessions.

We used to sing Where Have all the Flowers Gone in assembly. It always seemed to go on for hours.

Ah the old duplicating machine! We had one at senior school too, my Latin teacher used to trust me to run off her worksheets and I loved the smell!

I was talking about primary school with DS today. He is 20 and was annoyed that I call it infant, juniors and seniors instead of primary and secondary. He remembers singing Lord of the Dance and Sing Hosanna in primary assembly whereas I went to the same school and we sang folk songs - Streets of London, I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing and songs by the Seekers. Was my headteacher just a hippy or does anyone else remember this too?

avoiding just saw your post, did we go to the same school?

I remember SRA cards! The only thing I was any good at

I remember them too. The font on the lower level cards was huge as there wasn't much text. I was quite bright but lazy and I remember looking in awe at the higher levels that had much more text on them. I vaguely remember one about a pound of lead and a pound of feathers weighting the same.

The horror of doing gymnastics in your knickers and vest if you forgot your PE kit, though

You were lucky, vest and knickers WAS the PE kit at our school up till Year 3.

Absolutely everybody had one of these thermos flasks with matching lunchbox. Mine was yellow and green with the muppets on it. Lots of us used to bring in spaghetti hoops or soup in them for our lunch