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!

Trampoline was the worst with the harness.
I do believe that they were trying to kill us off tbh !

In primary yes, and we never used it. I think there was a hoop and rope on it too. Mostly PE was playing parachute or capture the flag.

We still have one. It was used when I first came to work here 20 years ago but now just used to tie on backdrops for school plays.
I am going to ask on Monday!

It was Large or Big Apparatus. Small would be bats and balls etc.
Had one at Primary and Secondary. Torture. At secondary we had to do circuit training and the big frames and ropes were part of it.
When I became a teacher we had to learn to set up the Large Apparatus safely It was used all the time. Children would move mats small equipment and sometimes benches but the Large Apparatus was set up by 2 adults and checked.

OMG yes!

I had to be rescued from the apparatus when I was 9.
I got stuck and panicked.
My teacher had to climb up and get me down.

I was such a wimp

Those were the days when we used to do PE in our vests and knickers.

Kids in my primary school were always desperate to go on it for reasons unbeknownst to me.

I was terrified of it, way too high

Always out for gym both at primary and secondary. And at my dc's infant (didn't have one at juniors) was used frequently too.

Took me to see your comment to remember the word the apparatus. So weird 😂

Yes!! I entirely forgot it was referred to as ‘the apparatus’ until I saw all these replies 🤣 We’d rarely have it out and when we did it started with a 15 minute talk on HOW TO USE IT SAFELY and it felt like the most dangerous thing in the world 😂😂

You had a harness? We didn't and I do have a vague memory of boinging straight of the trampoline, fortunately onto a mat.

Don't remember it being used for gym much.. but on very special days - snow days, last day of term etc they'd take it all out and we'd play 'Pirates'. Game of tig played on apparatus. You were out if caught or you touched the floor.

You had to wait until the apparatus has been pulled out and properly secured and then yes, we went on it. Our school hall was often set up for circuit training of a sort with upended benches, different height pommels and trestles to climb over and jump off. Plus an array of blue mats that were disintegrating every time we used them.

Yes, the 'big apparatus'.

Can't remember it in primary.

In 2ndry we had hockey, netball & cross country in the Winter & the weather had to be bloody awful to be indoors on The Apparatus!

Yes. It was blue. I fell off the top of it onto my side and I was bruised the whole way down my body. The only time I ever got picked up from school. Now you would probably be sent to hospital to be checked over. I can remember sweating, I was probably in shock.

Yes, came out regularly in both primary and secondary. Could never climb the ropes but used to like going to the top of the climbing frame bit.

Secondary also had an alternative bit of pull-out apparatus which seemed to have gymnastic rings and high bars. I never saw or heard of that being used though.

The Apparatus! It came out very occasionally at my primary school. I broke my wrist falling off the ropes. I could never climb the ropes but I climbed the bars next to them and tried to come down the rope but couldn't hold on. I also remember several kids getting friction burns from trying to slide down the ropes. Wet paper towels all round!

That's probably why they didn't get The Apparatus out very often - too many injuries.

There was a girl in my class who could get to the top of those ropes - only one though, the best anyone else could do was about six feet off the floor, and most of us couldn't do that. The girl who could was very slim indeed and below average height but not actually particularly sporty generally - the theory was she could do it because she just didn't weigh much! Not sure if that's it, but one of my kids could climb like a little chimpanzee when he was very young (until he was about five), but lost the ability as he got bigger. I guess you don't need much upper body strength if you're really, really light!

Yes, we had the ‘apparatus’ in primary school.

It was a rare and exciting day when PE was a gymnastics lesson that involved the apparatus (and not just doing forward rolls on a mat in our underwear).

Yes and it was used all the time

Yes! And yes I remember going on it once😄 i think it was a rare treat.

Only in p1/p2 then the gym Hall had to be made into a large classroom as our year was too big for all the other classrooms. We had to use the church hall across the road so sadly just a dreary wooden panelled hall with nothing in it.

I however have had a shot on the one at my dcs school.

Yes, it was used regularly, in our crappy inner city primary. And gymnastics horses and upside down benches. Ours was wooden with ropes for climbing.
DDs use it in their school PE lessons, and I've seen them used in other schools on visits. I don't remember having one at secondary.

My various (60s-built) schools of the 80s and 90s had Apparatus which we used.

Our sports block was renovated in the mid-90s and opened when I was y11 so that probably was The End of the Apparatus.

Gymnastics was the only PE I enjoyed and wasn't utterly inept at... apart from having to take a run up to the Box, being too light to activate the wooden spring board and having to scramble up the slick, varnished side of the Box which was tricky with my lack of height.