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Original poster

Subjects no longer taught at school

153 replies

adviceatthislatestage · 22/08/2023 22:58

On the back of the what O Levels did you do, thread, it got me thinking of subjects that were available when I was at school, but aren't any more:

When choosing options you could do, at our south London bog standard comprehensive

British constitution
Government and Politics
Needlework - very different to the Textiles kids would do now
Typing- only the girls
Metal work- only the boys
Motor vehicle maintenance - again boys
Technical Drawing - think this was a mixed class
Home Economics- much more than the Food Tech kids do now though. I remember we had our own studio flat, between the two HE rooms. For end of year exams, students would have to cook a 3 course meal and serve to a number of teachers in the 'fiat' as if having a dinner party.

What subjects did you study, or remember that aren't being taught any more?

OP posts:
bellabelly · 23/08/2023 00:14

It wasn't an exam subject but I really enjoyed having a Calligraphy lesson once a week - think it was just to fill up a spare lesson on the timetable! Miss Richards used to tell us to bring in a poem or a short paragraph to write out each week in beautiful calligraphy writing. I had a special pen and everything!

Merapi · 23/08/2023 00:15

I remember when physics, chemistry and biology were three entirely separate O'levels and you could do whichever one you wanted. I did biology. Having fairly recently discovered my old coursework in the loft and compared it with the GCSE science classes my dd did, there was no comparison. The old biology O'level covered the subject in much greater depth and was considerably more challenging.

There was also typing (girls only obviously) but that was limited to the CSE stream. Several O'level English classes clashed with typing, so you couldn't do typing if you were doing O'level English.

Lessstressedhemum · 23/08/2023 00:24

LBOCS2 · 23/08/2023 00:10

Oh that's very odd @Lessstressedhemum. I did 11 GCSEs in 2001, and that was on the high end of normal? Two languages, three science, two English, maths, statistics, technology, business. And DSS did at least 8 this summer; english, Spanish, maths, three sciences, photography, history.

The Scottish exam system is completely different to the rest of the UK. And it's unrecognisable nowadays to an old fogey like me who did very old fashioned O Grades. It's changed utterly and not for the better, imo. It's so much narrower and subjects just aren't covered in anything like the same depth, especially, I think, languages.

Interested in this thread?

Then you might like threads about this subject:

General education
Vetoncall · 23/08/2023 00:31

Latin was compulsory at my school from 1st-3rd year (1990s single sex grammar school in NI). We had to troop down to the local 'Tech'/FE college once a week for a few months in either 2nd or 3rd year to learn how to touch type as well. I'm glad we did- to this day I can type really fast without looking at the keyboard 😄

AppletreesAndHoneybeesAndSnowWhiteTurtleDoves · 23/08/2023 01:19

stayathomer · 22/08/2023 23:58

Some schools in Ireland do classics so Greek and Roman mythology- ds is gutted his doesn’t ( he heard of it from my brother- we’d thought it was discontinued!)

Went to school in South West England and we did Greek mythology in year 7.

We did Classical Civilisations as an A Level option, also Ancient Greek and Latin were options at A Level and GCSE. This was 1990s, don't know if schools still do Classical Civ.

underneaththeash · 23/08/2023 07:47

Lessstressedhemum · 22/08/2023 23:28

When I did my O Grades in early 80s Scotland, I took Latin and Greek amongst others. It's almost impossible to do those in a state school now.

When I was at school, girls learnt to knit in P4 and then to sew, embroider, darn etc. I can't remember what boys did. At secondary, boys did woodwork, metalwork and techy drawing. Girls did Home Economics. We learned to cook, clean, lay tables, budget, iron shirts, fold napkins.... We had a wee one bedroom flat in the HE department so we learned how to make beds, use a washing machine, clean a bathroom, wash windows. Everything we would need to know to be a good little wifie.
My HE teacher was obsessed with etiquette and deportment. She actual had us walking about the class with a book on our heads to improve our posture 🤣
In 3rd year, girls who couldn't manage a maths O Grade could do Secretarial Studies, but boys weren't allowed. We also had what was called the 3 Science Class. Those of us in the top 10% of 2nd year, were offered the chance to do physics, chemistry and biology O Grades, condensed into the 12 periods a week other kids got for 2 science subjects. That wouldn't happen nowadays.

The science thing actually happens at my son’s school. It means the brightest kids get to do an extra GCSE.

RampantIvy · 23/08/2023 07:52

When DD took her GCSEs in 2016 she did triple science. Others took double science which was basically two thirds of the syllabus of triple science. These exams covered all three sciences.

I believe the wording has changed slightly to double award and triple award now. I assume that it is similar to double/triple science in that all three sciences are covered but double science covers less ground?

calimali · 23/08/2023 07:55

Some of these subjects are still available, but are often dropped in schools by the HT who is chasing grades in the 'big three' that get the school up the league tables - only English, Maths and Science 'count' and everything else is deprived of the resources and curriculum time they need. Too many schools are becoming businesses churning out students forced down academic routs that are totally unsuitable for them.

In the past students could take subjects they enjoyed and that would actually benefit them. Home Economics, childcare, woodwork, metalwork, textiles - now all but disappeared in most schools. The same is happening to art, music, modern foreign languages and religious studies. Archaeology is no longer available as an exam at any level.

Spidey66 · 23/08/2023 08:15

I went to a girls RC school (comprehensive). Round the corner was its equivalent for boys. I'm 57, so was at secondary school late 70s/early 80s.

I'm on the fence on single sex education, and one of the reasons was we weren't allowed to do TD, woodwork or metalwork, just domestic science and needlework. But from other comments here, mixed schools had that too. My juniors was mixed and only girls dis needlework.

Home Economics/Domestic Science was CSE only. I can't remember how many dishes I had to make....just I hated it, my teacher was a bully.

Human Biology was CSE only and had been previously been known as Nursing Studies and was popular with girls wanting to go into nursing.

We were offered typing, all girls were offered it. I wish now idmtaken it bit was adamant I wouldn't work in an office.

We were offered CSE European Studies or Spanish studies , this involved the history/geography ot Europe or Spain bu5nno language elements.

Wbeezer · 23/08/2023 08:31

@Lessstressedhemum I was in the three sciences stream at my Scottish comp, did chemistry and had to give up some PE and music lessons (boo hoo!) To fit it in. I'd moved from a school where the top set could do two languages from second year, in hindsight is have been better doing German than Physics but never mind.
I too think the curriculum is less demanding now.
DS2 did AH English, in fact won the sixth year English prize, without ever studying Shakespeare!
Also never had the chance to learn Latin, he's having to learn it now as a post grad.

Lessstressedhemum · 23/08/2023 08:34

Spidey66,, just reminded me that there was a subject called European Studies when I was at school. It was in the same column as French and German when we were choosing our O Grades and was for the kids who wouldn't have been able to do the languages. We had Human Biology as well, that was for kids that the school didn't think could handle "proper" science.
I think in England at the time , there was a 2 tier system with GCSES AND CSEs but we didn't have that in Scotland. We only had O Grades, so there were simpler ones like human biology and European Studies for the less academic pupils. And things like techy, seccy and home eccy where always in the maths column at choices time so that those pupils had something to choose there. Arithmetic and English were compulsory for everyone.

horseymum · 23/08/2023 08:38

Did Latin at a bog standard comp. Also touch typing and Japanese scotvec modules. The typing has been quite useful. Those saying you can't do childcare anymore though, our school does college courses - childcare and others.

Ragwort · 23/08/2023 08:42

Elocution Grin my DM actually taught it !

FlamingMangoes · 23/08/2023 08:42

Mum was made to leave school after she took her O level mocks, but she got a pass in Divinity (is that studying to be a goddess?)

Lessstressedhemum · 23/08/2023 08:43

@Wbeezer, we had the top set being offered a 2nd language in 2nd year, too. I choose Latin, my friends mostly chose German. Funnily enough, there was a huge overlap between the 3 Science class and the 2 language class right up until highers when we obviously had to make a choice in direction of travel, as it were.
My ds1 also did AH English, it was a bit of a farce really compared to my SYS. And he also won the English prize repeatedly from 3rd year without ever reading Shakespeare (or anything I would consider particularly challenging, tbh.) I just feel that we are doing our kids a disservice by not expecting enough of them, sometimes.

Aslockton · 23/08/2023 08:58

I went to a comprehensive called Toothill in Notts. In the 80s, it had a full working farm and my brother took CSE Rural Studies. The teacher iirc was known affectionately as Wally 'Pigman' Smith. They would often use the school minibus to take animals to local country shows. At lunchtime, I remember rushing down to the farm (behind the maths dept) to see lambs being born, my brother remembers a lesson plucking turkeys before Christmas.

My school also did hovercraft racing in the bus park with a 12ft hovercraft made by the 'craft' dept.

In 5th year (year 11) we had the option of hockey or parachuting in PE. It was too cold to do hockey, in my opinion, so I did parachuting! I did my first static line solo jump a week after my 16th birthday as part of my PE lesson.

Happy days! My OH went to a very academic grammar school in the South of England. We certainly had a different secondary school experience.

caringcarer · 23/08/2023 09:00

My DD did Classical Civilizations.
My sister did an O level in Marine Biology because she was in the gifted child project and took her Maths O level at 13.

OhWhatFuckeryIsThisNow · 23/08/2023 09:06

Another 70s child. Boys did metalwork or woodwork. The brighter ones did tech drawing. Girls didn’t because “women don’t get jobs in that field” Girls did home ec and sewing (at HSC level this became textiles) We learnt about the different properties of fibres, did experiments on them, pretty sciency. I learnt to make m own patterns, lots if embroidery. Can still strip down a sewing machine. It was actually a boy who changed the rule because he wanted to be a chef so campaigned to be allowed to do home ec.

EducatingArti · 23/08/2023 09:11

Lessstressedhemum · 22/08/2023 23:28

When I did my O Grades in early 80s Scotland, I took Latin and Greek amongst others. It's almost impossible to do those in a state school now.

When I was at school, girls learnt to knit in P4 and then to sew, embroider, darn etc. I can't remember what boys did. At secondary, boys did woodwork, metalwork and techy drawing. Girls did Home Economics. We learned to cook, clean, lay tables, budget, iron shirts, fold napkins.... We had a wee one bedroom flat in the HE department so we learned how to make beds, use a washing machine, clean a bathroom, wash windows. Everything we would need to know to be a good little wifie.
My HE teacher was obsessed with etiquette and deportment. She actual had us walking about the class with a book on our heads to improve our posture 🤣
In 3rd year, girls who couldn't manage a maths O Grade could do Secretarial Studies, but boys weren't allowed. We also had what was called the 3 Science Class. Those of us in the top 10% of 2nd year, were offered the chance to do physics, chemistry and biology O Grades, condensed into the 12 periods a week other kids got for 2 science subjects. That wouldn't happen nowadays.

The science thing is kind of built in these days. Most students do combined Science GCSE which is equivalent to 2 GCSEs but schools offer some more able students the traditional 3 sciences.

WeWereInParis · 23/08/2023 09:18

My mum is a government and politics teacher at a secondary school, so that's definitely still taught

woodhill · 23/08/2023 09:22

Yes classics is rare at schools now and my ds really wanted to do it, lack of teachers I think

Used to do English grammar lessons and Latin reading or you could do Latin at o level

MissAmbrosia · 23/08/2023 09:24

At my ss Grammar school, we had to do Latin for at least the first year (in our tunics and indoor shoes). I swapped to German after that. We had needlework and home economics for the first 3 years. We started by making a nice gingham pinny. I did typing and car maintenance as electives in the 6th form, along with a cooking class. We did this with the boys. Learning to touch type is probably one of the most useful things I learnt. There was a computer that took up a whole room, but only those doing science o'levels were allowed to do computer studies. I did French, History, Biology, German, Russian and Art.

AllProperTeaIsTheft · 23/08/2023 09:30

Latin, but I was at a grammar school, and quite a lot of grammar schools probably still offer it (but not the one where I teac).

Needlework, which I hated!

Otherwise it was pretty much the same subjects.

SabrinaThwaite · 23/08/2023 09:45

1970s/1980s very ordinary comprehensive school, you could do O level American History in lower sixth form - I really wanted to do it but couldn’t because of timetable clashes.

Geology seems to have almost disappeared too - I did that as O level
in lower sixth and A level in upper sixth.

I have a feeling that the school offered Russian as a language in the 1970s too?

woodhill · 23/08/2023 09:46

MissAmbrosia · 23/08/2023 09:24

At my ss Grammar school, we had to do Latin for at least the first year (in our tunics and indoor shoes). I swapped to German after that. We had needlework and home economics for the first 3 years. We started by making a nice gingham pinny. I did typing and car maintenance as electives in the 6th form, along with a cooking class. We did this with the boys. Learning to touch type is probably one of the most useful things I learnt. There was a computer that took up a whole room, but only those doing science o'levels were allowed to do computer studies. I did French, History, Biology, German, Russian and Art.

Yes I made a gingham penny in Y6 to use in senior school but who know where it went