Did anyone in your secondary school ever use the showers?

[Soubriquet]

In American programs, teens are always shown using the showers after PE

I remember never seeing anyone using the showers at my school. At best, they were used for some groups of girls to change in semi privately. At worst, they were completely ignored.

So. Your school?

All girls grammar school in the 60s . We had to shower in open showers/ open changing rooms. It was awful made even worse by the PE teacher watching the whole time . Fortunately for me my mother sent letters in saying I wasn't to do at least half of my PE lessons due to heavy painful periods. I was so glad to leave that school .

This is interesting as the consensus is that no one used them or was forced to and hatred it. I can't remember ever using the school showers so assume that no one at my school (girls anyway) used them either.

Just asked my husband who went to an all boys school and he said yes everyone there used them. He said there was a bit of ribbing "but there was about everything" but otherwise he was happy to use them as was everyone else.

Obviously sample of one but I wonder if the embarrassment of communal showers is more limited to girls rather than boys?

Yes, compulsory, open showers had to queue.

Mid/late 90s nobody did and like pp said no idea if they even worked?

I wonder if the boys didn’t mind so much because it’s easier to cover up for them than it is girls. We have a bit more to cover.

Early 00s secondary comp. We used them to get the mud off our legs after cross country etc but tended to keep our shorts/pants and top half on. They were the classic open school showers.

Never

Yep. PE teacher watched. Was humiliating but no excuses were accepted. Grammar school early 80s.

Yep, a long line of showers on either side. You had to run through. The trick was the dodge the water and come out dry. Like a slalom.

How weird does the word slalom look written down?

PE teachers would watch and send you to the back of the queue if you were too dry, to repeat the process. Eventually there was a mutiny and noone bought towels. The showers were stopped after a couple of weeks of that. Thank god.

State school, bit posh, mid 90s

I was at high school 1995-2000 and we had to use the showers unless we were on our period.

I had a lot of periods...

Our pe teachers used to scream 'fucking salad dodgers' at the overweight kids and force us in the showers 15 at once and stand watching and checked you were naked. Boys had it even worse from what i was told.

One of the boys went mad one day and drove home on PE teachers moped

@Trisolaris

Only after swimming when we could keep our costumes on

Same here.

Yes, we were actually ticked off by the games teacher in her book as we walked out of the row of communal showers. If you had your period you could be excused and she put a large P in the box against your name

Yes and woe betide if you didn't have a period exactly 28 days later, we used to get bollocked

Yes -mid 80's - a teacher would check you hung your towel, ticked your name off and watched as you went through (as quickly as possible)

They also kept a period register

No early 90s I don’t even think they worked. We used run muddy legs under mop tap if we were really dirty. There was never enough time get 30 girls through and dried anyway then you have carry around soggy towel on top of massive heavy rucksacks no lockers then.

Nope, bog standard comp, early/mid 80s. The shower was there, but ignored by teachers and pupils alike. I think it was. broken, never to be repaired.

Only a very quick rinse of the legs after a muddy cross country run, the water was always freezing. We all doused ourselves in Impulse instead. Assuming similar for the boys as they all reeked of Lynx.

No. I was at high school from 1993 to 2000.
We had showers but they were never used. There was a tap where people would sometimes wash their legs after cross country. But I don't think the showers worked

@Rollergirl1980

Mid to late 80s - showers in a line. We had to wait in a queue wrapped in our towel and one by one walk through the water spray from start of showers to end. We had to hold our towel above our head to keep it dry. PE teacher stood at start and watched you go through. No actual washing took place. They might as well have hosed us off. Very embarrassing experience but completely accepted.

Similar story here. Our school showers at least had individual cubicles, but the teacher would pull the curtain aside if she suspected you were just biding your time/using your towel to preserve your modesty.

Also in this series: being made to pull your skirt up to prove you were wearing regulation grey school knickers from an approved shop. I went to an all-girls' school, but even so...

Just to add, when showers become optional a lot of people opted not to have them, and went through the rest of the day with dried PE sweat on them. Including me. Guess what? No one died of grim.

Brings me right back to maths class after PE half class stinking of lynx the other half of Impulse the teacher gaging and opening window to get rid of stale sweat and chemicals concoction

Yes and woe betide if you didn't have a period exactly 28 days later, we used to get bollocked

WTF? 28 days is an average and plenty of women and girls have cycles that are shorter or longer than this. Mine is shorter and I can't even imagine if I was told off about that.

same as lots of others, they were there in a line but nobody used them, even after rugby when we were absolutely filthy - we literally had to lie face down in the mud until we were dirty enough . Teachers did try and nag us to but there was no room or time - half the year had games at the same time so there were always about 60-70 girls in a tiny room designed for about 15 - there were people trying to change crammed in the toilet, shower area, everywhere, and we all had huge bags as well. It was hard enough trying to change your top without elbowing someone else in the face, forget having a shower!

Yes we had to, absolutely no choice. That was in the 80s though.

My own kids never had to shower after PE though. They found the idea bizarre!