School in the 1970s

[Malie]

Was chatting to a friend who also went to school in the 1970s. We agree they were quite different to now. Anyone else go to school then?

Me. Born in 69, so was in primary in the 70s.
Was good fun, actually… my school had huge grounds and we were left alone and unsupervised outside over lunch and break. Classes were smaller, too.

Yes. Everyone thinks I made up ITA (the something, maybe initial, teaching alphabet) which had symbols for different sounds a which was used to teach very little kids how to read: we transitioned to normal alphabet in third year infants.

But ITA was real!

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Initial_Teaching_Alphabet

That looks bonkers @Iamthewombat glad they never did that in my school!

I went towards the end as I was born in 75 but it was way different no school uniform incredibly racist fabulous dinners army marching songs sang with gusto 1920s music complete with flapper dresses pe in pants

Strangest school I ever attended tbh

Born 1971..
Sitting on the floor singing in assembly.

School dinners..
Playing games in the yard at break time.. Imagine dc playing marbles and 2 baller now!

I was at school in the late sixties and early seventies. Things were very different from today. Junior school classes were over 40, with only one (necessarily very strict) teacher. It was in the days of the 11plus, so teaching was geared towards passing the exam. Maths was particularly hard, as it was before decimalisation and long division with money was so complicated (for me).
The grammar school was also strict - correct uniform, no talking in corridors, standing up when a teacher entered the room. Also, order marks, which you could get for talking in class, forgetting a book etc. Prefects could give you lines or order marks, and if you got 3 in a term you were up in front of the very scary headmistress.
Today's pupils have no idea!!

I started school 1967 and learned to read using ITA. Started primary 1970 and I remember my teacher checking ears, neck and hands to make sure they were clean. Outside toilets and seperate girls and boys entrance and playgrounds

I started school in 1973. We had big classes (I just found my school reports while sorting out my parents' loft) my y2 class had 44 kids, an NQT and no TAs to be seen!

We watched TV for schools (I remember Joe and the Sheep Rustlers) the TV was on a wheelable unit which was moved to wherever it was needed - for us that was the opportunity space I have no idea why it was called that!

In the long hot summer of 1976 I don't remember us wearing sun cream (certainly not applied in school). We had school milk which had been left out in the warm so was pretty sour by 10.30. And water st lunch time. But nothing else to drink.

I walked to school with my friend from age 5. Village location and no road to cross.

We learnt to read with Dick and Dora then went on to Happy Family books.

Yes, I left school in 1979. Hated school with a passion. Regularly sexually assaulted, several male teachers were in relationships with much younger former pupils. My physics teacher went to prison for having a relationship with an underage student. Corporal punishment - I got whacked across the legs a couple of times, proper canings were carried out on the stage during assembly. Terrible school meals - we were poor so had free lunches. We had to show our free lunch pass, so got bullied for that.

I skipped down the school drive on my last day and never looked back. Went to college and loved every minute.

i remember winter salad
chocolate shortcake and chocolate sauce

Objects being thrown at your head by teachers
No fences up on playing fields/playgrounds so potentially anyone could wander in
TV on a trolley being wheeled between classes
Teachers reeking of cigarettes and stale coffee
Playground equipment that had concrete beneath it and slides with low sides
Woodwork and needlework classes depending on your gender

I went to school in the 70s and early eighties. Main things I remember are kids being belted and caned on a regular basis, chalk dusters and other sundry projectiles being thrown at us and teachers gratuitously mocking and demeaning their pupils. I hope to hell it's very different now because it was nothing short of institutionalised physical and emotional abuse in my day.

climbing frame, straight onto concrete

My husband started teaching in 1970 in a day school but went on to teach in couple of all boys' boarding schools. One was in rural Devon and, by today's standards, pretty Dickensian. Dorms were cold ( a particular problem for overseas pupils), very sporty and very strict. It is now co-ed and quite a swish establishment. I used to feel very sorry for the more sensitive boys and especially if long way from home. I could never have sent our own children off to board.

Country dancing.
Banana nesquik milk.
Going home for lunch when the teachers were on strike.
Doing PE in our vests and knickers.
Johnny Red Hat (?) reading books.

oh yes, country dancing!

boy being hit by blackboard rubber!

I learnt ITA in the early 1970s - there were 40 characters, all phonetic. Some kids never learnt to spell properly after having to then move on to the regular alphabet.

In infants, we had to wave our hankies in the air in assembly every day so that the Headmistress knew that everyone had a proper handkerchief - she must have hated snotty nosed kids using their sleeves, & "no hanky" meant "big trouble." To this day I find it impossible to go out without a hanky/tissue up my sleeve or in my pocket, so proof that early conditioning does work!

Anyone else do ‘music and movement’ in your vest and knickers while a teacher played the piano ?

ITA was done at the school in the village I didn't go to for exactly that reason.
It meant there was a shelve of infant age books in the library that looked (to me as a child) as though they were written in code. I think it was "initial teaching alphabet".

I think they generally learnt to read slightly easier at the beginning, but a lot struggled to move on from it.

I wasn't at school until the 80s but I remember it being much more relaxed.
I remember one nice day the teacher in year 3 announcing to us to pick up pack lunch if we had it, and we all headed out into the countryside for the day. He showed us eggs in nest, a fieldmouse nest and all sorts of things. We ate our pack lunch shared with the dinner people, and arrived back half an hour late at the end of the day. Can you imagine that happening nowadays?
The tuck shop that taught us how to spend our money wisely (2 liquorice catherine wheels, a packet of crisps and a penny sweet for 15p was my choice).
The day when the teacher decided we'd paint the windows with flowers, and washing the teacher's car for a few "team points" one afternoon, and another afternoon spending in and out of the ditch round the playing fields when we found parts of a broken plate. We stuck it together with PVA glue and were convinced we would be on antiques roadshow. 🤣🤣🤣

Yes. I wonder whether we were at the same school!

Ahh yes. I started school in the early seventies in large classes in a school with a roll of almost 1,000 children.

We had huge primary classes for a few years. The nit nurse. Uniform was usually only worn for concerts and photos. A specialist PE teacher gave us lessons twice a week. We also had specialist music and art teachers. (No drama teachers)

Occasionally children were given 'the belt'. We had blackboards, a concrete playground with concrete tunnels and cylinders which classes took turns on. Soup and pudding for school lunch on a Monday.

In P3 we learnt to knit. There were blocks of swimming lessons for older primary children. In P5 we made nail and string pictures.

More children walked home from school from a younger age. There were more cases of flu/bad colds in the winter when literally half the class might be off for several days.

Nit nurse inspecting your hair, and a school dentist looking at your teeth.

Yes! And also the books we had with songs all based on a theme. They were changed quarterly and there was a radio programme to accompany it. Yellow bird etc