Did anyone else who went to primary school in the mid-80s have to do PE in their vest and pants?

[TheLightSideOfTheMoon]

I was telling my colleagues who are in their twenties about it and they looked at me like this: 🙄

Did anyone else experience this? Or was my school slightly strange?

I genuinely no idea that some people had forced showers at school until I read about them on here. I went to a girls convent school '82-'89 and that never happened. The most undressed I ever got at changing, was down to bra and skirt while I put shorts on underneath, took the skirt off, then reversed the process afterwards. Not having showers was a lucky escape; they sound dreadful.

Only if you forgot your PE kit, I think. We had navy shorts (which were pretty much big pants) and white t-shirts or singlets for PE in first school and only slightly more capacious kit for middle school, so it wasn't a stretch. And black plimsols.

I do vaguely remember it was a bit shameful to have to do it in your vest though and you might get laughed at...

Ah, not the same school then, but sounds like a very similar outlook!

Oh the memories! Big thick navy knickers and a white vest was standard for PE lessons in Scotland in the early 1980s. With black plimsolls (known here as jimmies).

Yep, was in the late 80's and early 90's. They also threatened us with it at Secondary in Yrs 7&8, but then switched for the dreaded spare kit box.

Of course. I never forgot my PE kit.

I had to this is in the mid 90s in Infant school but not Juniors

Yep. And bare feet if you forgot you gym shoes. Wonder if this particular childhood trauma is why I never forget important kit...

I had to do it until equivalent of year 7 (First year at secondary school!!!).

Bloody awful.

Yes, 70s though.
Sounds awful now when you look back.
Mind you, it wasn't too great at the time!

Yes, then I changed to a different school in the second year of infants and they all looked at me like I was mental when I got in my pants and vest!

I remember wearing knickers and a vest in the early 2000s when I was at primary school

I was at grammar school in the 60's and we wore airtex shirts and 'gym knickers' for indoor sports such as gymnastics and trampoline work. We had a little skirt to put on over when we played hockey or netball. The knickers were made from a much thicker cotton than normal ones.

Late 80s/early 90s in primary school we did PE in vests and pants if parents didn't pack us a PE kit

In a similar vein, I recently asked my Year 9 son (age 13) if his class shower after PE lessons. He thought the idea of this was ridiculous and scoffed at me. My generation had communal showers at my school (I’m mid 40’s) he said he doesn’t even think the PE block has showers, but I find that hard to believe!

I have very vivid memories of Infant school PE in the 80's. Yes to doing it in our vest & pants, but I remember one day forgetting to put a vest on and I was forced to do it in just my knickers. I remember crying and being so incredibly self-conscious but the teacher not caring one bit.
I also remember (same school), a dinner lady forcing me to finish a sandwich from my lunch - even though I'd eaten most of it but was feeling unwell and explained that I felt a bit sick. I remember sitting on a chair in tears in front of all the other children whilst she shouted at me to EAT IT. I was sick that evening....

I was in the infants from 94-97 and definitely remember doing PE in vest and knickers. I think in Reception everyone did, and then in Year 2 it was only if you forgot your kit.

Everyone else did, but my DM was absolutely against it.

So I wore shorts, pkimsoles/gutties and felt v self conscious!

In primary school in the 90s it was very normal. Not in secondary though, by then there was the pe "spares" which were disgusting. Having flashbacks now and feeling nauseous. My kids think this is very weird when I tell them, and ask why we didn't just wear our school uniform like they do if they forget their kit, and I had no answer. It seemed normal at the time though.

Remember in secondary we didn't have spare kits and it was just bra and knickers if we didn't have our kit 😳
Showers in sixth form were bad, as we'd quite often get a male student having to supervise female students (and we'd be in Year 13 and they'd be Year 12) in the shower 😳

Yepnand when you joined secondary school it was the dreaded PE knickers

Yes, did this in infants in the early 90s. PE was always, as far as I remember, indoors in the hall using the gym apparatus in our pants, except for in the run up to sports day on the summer when we'd go outside to practice races etc.

I remember this in infants

My mid-80s infants was vest, pants and plimsolls. Fabrics were thicker then and central heating wasn't as widespread so it was normal to wear a vest made of fairly sturdy cotton most of the time anyway. (And if you were driven to school, cars took ages to heat up)

Juniors was t-shirt and shirts.

Secondary (90s) was polo t-shirt/ rugby shirt, gym knickers and games skirt. For all weathers. Hypothetically totally plain tracksuit bottoms were permitted in extreme cold at the PE teacher's discretion (they had none) and the reality was that being out of fashion, no one was going go buy any for the day of the year that it was -5⁰C and the PE teacher might actually permit them.
My friend's knees used to go very interesting shades of blotchy purple and neon orange due to reduced circulation.

Sport as an adult with the freedom to wear things like thermal leggings is so much better!

"Sport as an adult with the freedom to wear things like thermal leggings is so much better!"

I went to a private girls school from '82-'89. Part of the compulsory regulation sports kit was a tracksuit in the school colours, the type with a zip front jacket, those stripes down the sleeves and legs, and that fleecy lining. They were of a good thick material, so worn over our Aertex shirts and gym shorts (not knickers, they had a leg cuff of a good inch or two), they were much needed on cold days on the pitch or court. We didn't absolutely have to wear them - the choice was to just wear shirt and shorts if you didn't feel the cold particularly and kept warm moving about, plus you could add the fleece lined sweatshirt, and there was the plain coloured games kilt which we wore for tennis and hockey. I was always rubbish at sports, so unlike the sporty girls charging around the pitch, I'd more likely be standing around, huddled in my tracksuit, grumbling. 😅