Crazy school rules you remember when you were at school

[Notyouthful]

At my high school, they decided to do a one way system to go around the school to lessons. For 2 months, I was on crutches and three times a week, I had lessons which were in neighbouring blocks, but in the opposite direction to the one way system. I was made to go around the whole school. Surely they could make an exception for myself and a friend (carrying bag) to go the quickest route? Never been on crutches before and since - I got tired very quickly.

When it was PE when in crutches and for another month after that and if was outside. I was made to sit on a wall, not allowed to sit on a chair. I was bored out of my mind. Once a week, the lesson was the last one of the day. My parents took me home. Much to dismay of the teachers. Well I wasn't learning anything freezing to death.

Same school. They made a block of loos for each school year. I was having extremely heavy periods - that heavy that I had to change between lessons. Some lessons changeovers were opposite side of the school to the toilets for my school year. Having to follow the one way system (see above) too. I was always late for lessons. It was embarrassing.

Another school year, I had PE on my final lesson of the week. We were expected to get changed to go home/board school bus. At the time, I was living 10 mins walk from the school. What was the point in getting changed for 10-15 mins then getting changed again? Mobile changing rooms backed onto the main road and there was a hedge with a gap which could squeeze through.

We had to have a red pen to underline dates, titles and page numbers if doing exercises from Maths or French books for example.

This thread is quite interesting. I thought most of the really stupid rules came from academy heads with no accountability.

But it seems like pointless rules have been the case for decades.

My school was strict but as an adult I can kind of see the point of the rules (other than not using the school hall as a cut-through) - but I felt like a lot of the rules in my son's school were utterly pointless (and actually his school wasn't, and still isn't, an academy).

Indoor PE was in a leotard. If you were on your period you could wear your tracksuit bottoms but the teacher used to keep a record of when you wore them & would then tell your parents at parents evening if your periods were regular or not.

Navy blue knickers, white bras only

single one way system to get to classes

shower after pe with pe teacher watching us unless we had our period

cross country whatever the weather

no sick note from parent accepted for pe unless backed up by something from doctor

No smoking until off school grounds but in 6th form commons room it was ok

My DDs school has a reputation for being "strict" but their uniform rules are no where near as insane as ours were. They can even wear make up in Yr10 &11. (Minimal, but we weren't even allowed concealer, and gaur had to be tied back past a certain length).
I think one way systems do make sense though (except during fire drills!!)

My Geography teacher said we could only write in our exercise books in italic handwriting. My (and many others) handwriting was not italic. So, my exercise book for his subject contained different handwriting than all of my other exercise books. Bloody nuts. I wonder if, when he reached those pearly gates, (as I'm sure he must have done by now) my old teacher had a word with St Peter about writing out his name in Italics, as he passed through?

At primary school, woe betide children who did something sensible without being told, such as tidying up when not told yet. One teacher really humiliated some children who wrote “kitten” in their books when she had written it on the board, but not actually told us to do it. She threw their books on the floor, and made them stand at the front to hold them up.

Not a rule, but a time-saving procedure: before PE, we had to put shoes on without socks to walk to the assembly hall, before doing PE barefoot.

When watches which beeped on the hour were fashionable, the head banned all watches on the spot, when lots of them sounded in assembly. I think she thought it was a prank.

A whole school punishment was practising lining up, instead of playtime. On one occasion, I got so angry about this I made my feelings known in assembly: a teacher took me out to calm me down, and listened to me ranting and crying, but calmly refused to agree with me. Soon after that, I knew this ordeal was going to happen at afternoon play, so I asked my teacher if I could stay in the classroom and work (without telling her why). She was reluctant, but I pleaded, so she allowed it. Victory! I beat the system, aged 9.

Girls direct grant school 1960s. We had to wear navy blue knickers with our initials embroidered in bottle green chain stitch on the right hand leg for gym and pleated culottes with the same embroidery for games. Also a red shoe bag with white cord and white curtain rings and full name embroidered in white chainstitch! You couldn't buy these anywhere - it was assumed that your mother could make it or presumably find someone who could.

At my mother's convent school in the 1920s a nun used to sit on a sort of tennis umpire's chair in the dining hall and read from Foxe's Book of Martyrs during the meal!

I forgot about the embroidery. In the junior school we had to have our names across our chests in red chain link embroidery and in the senior schools our initials. Yes, it was assumed that we had someone who could embroider.
We also had to have dance dresses made to a particular sewing pattern, although they could be in any colour. I have no idea what happened if your parent couldn't sew.

I always remember at junior school all food in your school dinner had to be eaten with a knife and fork. (Fair enough). Once in the 3 weeks revolving menu was a burger in a bun served with chips. The burger was the only thing you were ever allowed to eat with your hands. However if whilst eating the burger you dared to pick up a chip and eat that with your hands, you lost the right to eat the burger with your hands and had to cut that with a knife and fork too. But the really crazy bit was this was a life time ban. The dinner ladies would note your name in a book and remind you the next burger day that you had to use a knife and fork.

Having to keep right in the corridors because keeping your right arm next to the wall stops you from drawing a sword.

I went to school in the noughties, not the 1300's!

Also, having to wear your blazer and tie to school on boiling hot days and then be told at registration that you could remove them for the rest of the day. No common sense allowed.

My secondary school was big on "the rules apply from the moment you leave your front door, to the moment you return to your front door". It was well-known that certain pupils would loiter, smoke and cause a nuisance in the streets when in uniform, and the head threatened to issue disposable cameras to the residents.

My dad (who was a pupil at a posh school, and hated it) muttered that the "front door" dictat would never stand up in court, and that the issuing of disposable cameras was highly questionable. He was also angry whenever my mum (a teacher) had to supervise Saturday detention, for which the pupils usually did some pointless task like writing out the school rules.

OMG chain stich!

We had to do our own chain stich. Initials in house colours on cookery apron. Name in house colours on the PE bag that we had to make using 'French seams'.

I thought my schools didn't have many bonkers rules but this thread reminded me.

Primary school didn't allow packed lunches. You had to have school dinners. I hated the dinners largely because they were shit (grated catering cheese, a slice of spam with roast potatoes and ravioli is one memorable combination). I was made to sit in a corridor area and finish my dinner before I could join the lessons. I'd be sitting crying trying to eat not very nice potatoes before moving onto custard and crumble that had congealed rather than actually learning. My mum went absolutely mad and as I would actually eat the salad (round lettuce, cucumber, cress, tomato and hard boiled eggs) one of those was saved for me every single day for the next four years.

Co-ed Secondary school in the 1990s. Red gym skirt over a bottle green leotard for all PE. No cycling shorts or leggings to be worn underneath. If you were outside you could wear your school sweatshirt over the top. But half your bum would still be exposed. Finally in 3rd year the leotard was scrapped and replaced with a white t shirt with the school logo. It took about another 6 months and a full on rebellion by the girls before cycling shorts were added to the uniform list under the gym skirt. Prior to that you were not supposed to wear them and would be told to take them off

If you were in any of the school bands (and probably a third to half of us were) then you had to wear band uniform for all concerts and competitions. Fair enough, except the girls' uniform was a black knee length skirt and white knee socks, the kind with the pattern made of holes that primary kids wear in summer. We used to call them virgin socks for some reason, I just learned now they are actually called Pelerine socks. Mine didn't fit my feet and came to mid calf. By the time I was in 4th year thankfully the switch had been made to 15 denier black tights.

Shirt, tie and a VERY thick blazer to be worm at all times

No matter the temperature and you had to be in full uniform for the whole journey to and from school, even if it was a blazing hot day and you were on a hot bus

Madness !!!

@HobnobsChoice virgin socks 😂😂😂😂

My mother had similar when she went to a girls boarding school in India in the 30's/40's. There was a partner boys school and they all went to church together on Sundays. Apparently the girls had to wear uniform coloured knickers in case they fainted and the boys had to carry them out and their skirts rucked up or the knickers were reflected in the floor. My mother thought this was nuts and didn't remember anyone fainting in church either.

I've just thought of another one. In science lessons we had to sit in alphabetical order (of surname) because the teachers used to give out numbered worksheets and textbooks and each number corresponded with a student in order of surname. We had to hand them back if they weren't ones we wrote on.

So for example if your surname started with a C you'd between people whose surnames started with a B or E. Or there might be three of you next to each other named Booth, Brown and Burgh.

That was normal when I was at school. Some teachers mixed it up so it went boy/girl, but each sex was in alphabetical order.

The post above has reminded me of my psychopathic maths teacher who made the class sit in order, according to test results. So the dumbos (like me) were right at the front and the clever ones were at the back. Everyone could tell what your test results were from where you were sitting.

We had a one way system, which I get because it stops people crashing into each other and it seems like a lot of schools have them. However, my maths and media studies class were next door to each other and there was one day in the week when I had maths and then media straight after. Maths was further up the corridor, meaning that we weren't allowed to go out of the door and turn right to go to our Media Studies class. We still used to do it but if we were caught the power mad teachers would make us walk all the way round. Mental!

We had to do "12 minute runs" every term - run round a track in the sports hall for 12 minutes non-stop whilst your partner counted how many laps you did, then swap. Hated it. On your report at the end of the year one of the things on the PE section was "fitness, as measured by a series of 12 minute runs"

I've just remembered another one! Same psychotic teacher made me stand up and provide an answer to something I didn't understand. He shouted and humiliated me for a while in front of the rest of the class. They were just as scared as I was. I then had what I much later realised was a panic attack. I couldn't breathe and had to go to the medical room. What a bully that man was.

We also had a one way system with different stairs for up and down!

This is one from DDs school....

Last year, she timetabled to have dance, then lunch, then PE. Lunch is 35 minutes. Dance is done in PE kit.

They had to change out of PE kit after dance, have lunch, then put their PE kits back on. Because obviously you can't eat in your PE kit...

Worth noting I’m Scottish and rule about uniform here are much more relaxed than in England.

Late 90’s / early 00’s. No denim jackets. The emo kids walking around in slipknot hoodies which said people=shit on them were absolutely fine but a senior pupil wearing a smart, dark denim jacket as they walked in the building was sent sit outside the heads office until he spotted you, gave you into trouble and sent you on your way. Sometimes you’d be there and back in 10 minutes, others you could be there an entire day.

A group of us S6 pupils decided THIS was the hill we would die on. We had protests, petitions, stuck leaflets around the corridors and generally made a fuss. The teachers ignored us, then the rule was changed the year after we all left. A teacher I liked told me later that they were enjoying our efforts and kept the rule because they wanted to see what we’d come up with next!