Did your school have a climbing frame folded against the walls of the hall? Did you ever get to go on it?

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One of the DC mentioned earlier something about never getting to go on the big climbing frame in the school hall and it unlocked my own memory of never getting to go on the big climbing frame in the school hall 😂

I went to 3 different schools from 4-16 and between them my DC have been to at least 7, and now we've discussed it none of us ever remember anyone getting a go on the big climbing frame in the hall. Going to ask DP about his memories of this when he gets home!

Yes & yes. I was always climbing the rope, the fireman's pole, hanging upside etc.

Yes, we had one.
No, we never got to go on it.

If the PE teacher ever said we’d be using the ‘apparatus’ it was invariable walking along upside down wooden benches, for balance, of throwing bean bags at each other. Rubbish.

Yes, ours had one of them. There was also a section with ropes. Quite a lot of kids were able to just grab hold and shin up a rope but I never got the hang of it, to the PE teacher's disgust. They did stop using that though, as one girl got right to the top, fell down and broke her leg.

This is exactly what I was about to type.

We had a climbing frame one, which you could attach a balance beam between, and a rope climbing one. It was the highlight of the week.

Yes and it was torture along with the lambs' tails. Worst was the horse vault!!!

Yes! B.O.R.I.N.G.

Yes and yes. And the ropes. 😳

Yes! At primary school, don’t think at secondary. It hardly ever came out for use, but one time I was given the job of setting it up with my friend (why were 9-11 year olds even given that responsibility?!) It hadn’t been put away correctly so when I unbolted the bottom bit, it sprang out, somehow ran over my foot, and gouged a huge chunk out of my big toe. I remember there was my blood everywhere, kids still doing PE around it, my foot was the size of a football with swelling but I was just sat at the office with a bit of wet paper towel on it, then was expected to limp around all day without a shoe on til home time. I probably actually needed stitches, my toe never healed properly and I have a big scar across it. #ISurvivedthe80s

We had one but we were only allowed to hang on the ropes occasionally, NEVER to the top.

Yes and yes, quite regularly. I didn’t care much for gym-related stuff - anyone else remember having to drag out those awful green rubber mats? - but I didn’t mind the climbing frame. Strangely, I could actually climb the ropes as well despite having very little upper body strength. This was in the 60s, at Junior School.
At Grammar School there was far more emphasis on “healthy” (freezing to the bone outside in the depths of a Yorkshire winter) athletics, netball, tennis and the like. The gym seemed to be a last resort.

Yes and yes. It came out every week.

Gosh memory unlocked. I remember it coming from the wall and being bolted into the floor. I definitely did the rope climb and recall getting all the way up to the ceiling, however thinking logically that was a huge height and I'm sure the mats would have achieved nothing if I'd fallen. Also recall hanging upside down by my knees. So much excitement on the times it was out.

I used to play competitive table tennis and one of our venues was a school hall. The ball would often go behind the apparatus and be impossible to find. The best way to find it was one person to climb to the top of it (whilst still against the wall) and peer down from there instructing whilst the other gropes around with their hand in the dusty horror that had stolen our ball.

Does that count?

One of my favourite P.E. lessons was when we played apparatus tig. Swarming all over it without touching the floor while the person who was 'it' tried to catch you. I remember one girl who was such a good climber got right up to the ceiling and was able to move from piece to piece with such agility no-one could catch her so the teacher called it quits. 1970s - Health and Safety did not exist.

My primary school did but I think we got one session or two MAX during the whole 7 year stint.

Yes, ours was also called The Apparatus. Reverential tone.

They also have it at the school I work. It’s fully serviced and an amazing piece of kit.

It is never used.

Yes. It was a good day when the PE teacher could be bothered to get out the apparatus.

We had 2 climbing frames at Primary School.

The original was huge and ancient, this was 80's and was probably 50 year old then. It was a right faff to set up and required the janitors assistance so I only remember it being used a few times.

The other one was smaller (and boring), installed when I was in Primary 3. The setting up was a case of pulling a bit out and shoving a bolt in the floor, one person job and took 30 seconds so that one was used a bit more often.

I can still remember the smell of the mats, probably 50 year old, half perished and growing bacteria new to science 😱

We had it and it was used regularly. I think there was a rule about only being allowed to climb to the top and back down again, we were not allowed to climb over the top and come back down the other side! Though I remember a couple of the ‘naughty’ boys would do it anyway when the teacher wasn’t looking. We also had the ropes with the big knot at the bottom that you could climb up. I couldn’t do it, so just used to swing on them a bit.

Wow that's insane!

Primary school - yes & yes.
we had to learn a sailor's hornpipe to dance on it for a show at one point 🤣

Ah yes the apparatus. I remember that 😆😆

Yes and yes, i used it weekly

Our school PE Hall was also where we had assembly. We had a "stage" that was made from units that looked like black tables with short legs that interlocked.

We also had a thing on the wall like an enormous notebook with the hymns preprinted on it. It was lowered on pulleys so that the pages could be turned before it was hoisted back up.

Oooh yes, I hated most of it as I wasn’t the most athletic person.

we had an end of term fun session one year basically a big game of ‘tag’ using all the apparatus, but a couple of kids turned it into hide and seek, most of the class had been caught, the 2 catchers were looking pleased with themselves, the teacher goes ‘nope there’s 2 left’ they looked very confused then spotted one up at the top of the ropes just hanging there, cue a good 5 minutes of them trying to get her down, which was useless as neither could climb the ropes, they tried wiggling them that didn’t work I think eventually she just got tired but fair play she’d been up there for ages. The other one took longer to find she’d was hiding in the horse vault thing, must have had help.