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?

Scottish primary maths?
I have never lived in Scotland but distinctly remember a purple and orange maths book called Scottish primary maths .

Yes I was born in 1962 but went to school in America.
@Creepymanonagoatfarm my daughter will tell you that she still sat on the floor for assemblies up til Y6! She's lower 6th now.
I'm not sure a lot was different other than no computers. We had those projector things. Slides instead of PowerPoint but they did the same job. My games uniform was a short green dress over bloomers. State school in the US so no uniforms other than games (which we called gym). Girls rarely wore skirts - jeans was the uniform.
No physical punishment as mentioned upthread, and I don't remember things being particularly strict. Day started at 8 but out at 2.15, but short lunch and no other break.

remember the assemblies with hymn singing and reading and prayers. Was made to stand up once in front of the whole school with my friend for giggling during prayers. Red faces and lots of trouble!

Me either ,cannot drink milk to this day ,would it have killed them to have put it in a fridge?

Yes to PE in vest and keks !
Yes to lovely school meals.
30/32 per class, 1 strict teacher, 1 TA.
Long breaks and dinner times on huge school fields.
Assembly every morning first thing.

Scottish maths books

SRA reading laboratory

Born 71. I remember singing from Time and Tune books along to the BBC radio programme. Also Music and Movement in pants and vest. Country Dancing in Juniors.
In Infants the head used to smack kids over her knee on Hymn practise. In juniors the Head gave kids the slipper (in private)
We played on the school field in summer and it was shared with the public. No school uniform. No order marks as someone mentioned, but my children have behaviour points at secondary which is the sane thing. I did have uniform at secondary but it wasn't as prescriptive as my children's. Eg. No blazer, any navy jumper or skirt, rather than the regulation ones my kids have/had

This brought back a fleeting snippet of a memory of a radio programme with a booklet ... it had something like a tree person or twig person (called seam thing like Twiglet or Twiggy...?).

I also remember SRA and I think I did the" orange sums book " for fun at home

It varied though. We had 2 primary schools in the village, and people just chose which one they wanted to go to.

My sister's class had 45-48 in her class (and a lot of boys who nowadays would be on the SEN register with behavioural issues) which meant that things like when they went on a school trip children sitting on the floor of the bus or squashed on a seat.
Two years below her had only 20-22 children in. So they used to save money on the bus when they were going on a trip and go in cars. Normally 3 cars. One of the teachers had a big estate car and even in year 6 could get 10 children in.

Marbles used to be banned at our school every year when they got fed up with us lifting up the drain grills at the end of the day to fish out lost marbles from all the gunk. There was also, inevitably, a point where someone threw a marble through a glass window.

H&S nightmare!

I've never willingly drunk milk on its own ever again after the vile stuff that would be left to go off in the playground.

Me neither. I gag just thinking about having to drink milk

Anyone else remember the excitement of the big tele being wheeled in on an enormous stand ?
Our head teacher used to bring his dog to school with him every day (though from what I hear, this is becoming a 'thing' again now) - all things in education go round in circles.

Music and Movement, warm milk, getting the ruler across my hand, being slapped by a teacher (I will find you Miss Wand) because she didn't like a picture I drew - no point in telling my mum as it was ok to do that, being mocked by a circle of girls and on reporting it being told 'sticks and stones may break my bones....'.
Primary 1971 -75

We had SRA too. I liked them. I still remember the words of some of the Time and Tune books. In 78 there was one about Marco Polo/Travellers Tales and one about a wicked magician

Was that Trig Trog?

Welcome Trig Trog we long to see you
Welcome Trig Trog we sing a song
Welcome Trig Trog we want to see you
You have waited far to long

Clap you hands for Trig Trog...

I think that was Time and Tune rather than Singing Together. We did Trig Trog as our Christmas show one year.

I genuinely don't know (and I have no idea what it's from!) It just flashed into my mind when someone mentioned the radio programme. Weird how memory works!

I left school in 71. Hated it. Teachers wore gowns and were terrifying and a lot were ancient. 40 in a class.
The Physics teacher fancied Stephanie and spent most of the lesson flirting with her.
The PE teacher was a sadist, she seriously was, she'd bellow and shout and make you run round and round the field till you were nearly dropping... just because she didn't like you.
Some teachers threw wooden blackboard rubbers at you, or yanked you up by the shirt and stuck your face rammed against the blackboard if you didn't understand the question.
I spent most of my time trying to hide behind those in front of me so I didn't get picked out.
Needless to say, I struggled and left school with hardly any exams.

We played them at primary school. I remember a boy swallowing one and choking which frightened us all. Thankfully he coughed it up!

I started school 1977. Small primary.
Then for part of juniors for 2 years we went to an old old Victorian school house .
I remember story time on the carpet . That bloody sour milk . Being tapped on the leg by a teacher I didn't like . Being read poems at story time .
School dinners were lovely . Eaten in the hall round large hexagonal tables . Tin jug with water in . Proper school kitchens were the food was cooked .

Huge playing field . Maki g walkie talkies from stickle bricks and playing horses with a skipping rope round your middle .

Kiss catch and British bull dog and what time is it mr wolf

Pe - in the hall with "apparatus " big wooden climbing frames on wheels with ropes and ladders.

Jumping over the box . Circuits .

At the Victorian school everyone was walked to the main school for lunch and back again .

Assembly was prayers and hymns .

When we did music we sang songs and played is instruments l

We all did Recorder lessons .

Infants had dressing up box and free time to play games .
We had a nature table and people
Brought in their finds ! Birds nests or fossils .
We did topics and had to research them using the encyclopaedia Britannica!

Someone decided at the end of primary everyone had to use joined up writing ....

Looking back primary was nice .
I hated it at the time tho 😂.

Our classes weren't big - 27 or so I think .

We played them at primary school. I remember a boy almost swallowing one and choking which frightened us all. Thankfully he coughed it up!

I started school in 1979 so really went in the 80s

-The belt was gone but still talked about

-Sexism and racism were prevalent and openly tolerated/encouraged, including by teachers

-School lunches were supervised and you got a row if you didn't have good table manners. You weren't allowed to leave the table unless you ate everything

-Loads of school trips

-Lots of teacher strikes

-Pink custard

-When things like german measles, mumps, chicken pox etc hit the school then half the school would be off.

-the torture of Scottish country dancing

It's strange how I can remember so much about primary school. My classmates names and surnames and where they lived and their mums, dad's and siblings, the layout of the school, every teachers name, many of the songs we sang in assembly, the layout of the hall when we did 'apparatus' PE, who played who in the school plays, books that were read to us, the faces of the lunch ladies, the french skipping chants. Yet I have trouble recalling what I did yesterday. Those days seemed to be imprinted on my mind like no other and I often revisit those memories. It was a time that I felt safe and a part of something.

What, to be caned or to do the caning?
I think in my primary school girls got the slipper, but boys got the cane if they'd been particularly bad ( like secretly drinking from a bottle in a desk on a hot summer day - I was so outraged about this at the time).

We also used to do handstands up
Against the wall . Knickers on show to the world .

Secondary was during the 80s for me .

The telly on wheels, which was watched in the "study"...a small room with no windows. We were always excited when it was our class' turn to enter that hallowed room. My favourite was "The way we were", a history program (obviously).
School milk has put me off milk for life.
Monday was torture - ham salad followed by rice pudding
No health and safety in the playground
Crisps bought from the tuck shop for 2 1/2p
Grumpy women on dinner duty.

Ahh good times.