Most ridiculous rule when you were at school

[Anotherrungup]

I was born in the 70s. Boys weren’t allowed to wear long trousers until they were in junior school! Thermal comfort was a privilege reserved for older children! At senior school it was ‘proving’ to the teacher that you’d had a shower after games - creepy as fuck.

I only wore uniform in one school and the rules were actually fairly lax. You could have your skirt as short as you wanted. Makeup allowed, heeled shoes never got pulled up on. No regs on hair.

But one thing was your jewellery had to be the school colours. Or gold or silver. I got blasted by the science teacher for wearing a tiny stud earring with a green stone in it!

Another was you're not meant to eat while walking to or from school?! Like how would they find out?

We had the pencil only rough book, which was explained by telling us we'd have reason to rub things out and redo it, thus reducing the number we'd need.

We also had to pay for them and as I had no money, I got in trouble for it, on my first day.

We had blazers, but they were optional. You could take your coat off at will, but had to ask permission to remove blazers!

We had regular knicker checks by both male and female staff to ensure our pants were the required colour. I once got sent home and missed a whole day of learning because my mum hadn’t done the washing so I had to wear a pair in the wrong colour.

No smoking (70s)

In the 90s. Only boys could play football and only girls were allowed skipping ropes. That was until one of the girls tripped on a rope and broke her leg so then they were banned. Girls then could play chasies (not with the boys) or stand about talking.

Went to a prep school that was in a very old massive house. Approx 20 teachers got to use the lovely wide main staircase, whilst 200 kids had to squeeze up and down the old servants stairs, which were made of extremely shiny stone. The number of kids who went flying was ridiculous but nobody ever thought to change it.

Having to stand up in assembly when the headmaster walked in, like he was an emperor instead of a fucking twat.

Having to go..😁I had terrible time at school 70 s kid.

I had a biology teacher who enforced a rule that no one was to write on the top line of any page in our exercise books. She enforced it by ripping work out of books in front of the class. She was one frightening lady, and to this day I still can’t bring myself to write on the second line and I always keep the first line empty!

Looking back, I kind of wonder what kind of weird power trip the teacher got from this. Such a hugely unnecessary rule, and seeing normally conscientious kids trembling before her was not fun. The whole school was scared of her!!

Some teachers should've been nowhere near children

I used to work as a TA and a Year 2 teacher would often rip out children's pages from their books, right in front of them, if she thought it wasn't good enough, and make them do it again. Year 2!! This was relatively recently too, the woman was a fucking sociopath, I've no idea why she was teaching. I didn't stay at that school long.

Skirt length. I can't remember the actual rule, but do recall what it became called.

Skirts could go down below your knees as far as you liked but not above more than basically showing your knees. This became known as 'above above the knee'. Cue terrifying Deputy Head who only knew the names of the girls in her English sets: 'YOU! Yes you. Your skirt is above above the knee. Do something about it!'

Options were to pull it down a bit, unroll if you were a roller-upper, or go to the school nurse for a temporary one to wear (that was the shameful option in our minds). If the school nurse was not to be found (dealing with an emergency or out smoking at her favourite spot) you had to go to reception where they would march to the nurse's room with a key and find a replacement. This was a walk of shame and by the time you had been to the reception and back the nurse may well have reappeared with a mint in her mouth.

I remember a male form tutor who had to check uniform once a week. He hated having to sit while girls came up and showed him their knee situation and eventually said 'I am sure you are all fine' which would get him in trouble 'YOU! Yes you. Your skirt is above above the knee. Are you in Mr HatesKnees form? Do something about your skirt!'

As a result we were more conforming as a group because we didn't want to lose Mr HatesKnees as our form tutor, except for Hazel who didn't care who she landed in trouble over the skirts wars, including herself.

Yes, we used to have the most ridiculous summer school uniform in an all girls school. Black watch tartan long sleeved shirt dresses. They were so hot. My friend got a detention for undoing her top button. She was accused of baring her chest to the workmen!

Yup, from 1969 to 76, girl's grammar. I still could not eat whilst walking down a road or even standing still outside.

Because the locals used to write letters of complaint about the conduct of the girls, how their behaviour had become disreputable and was damaging the reputation of one of the Counties most respected schools. And the Headmistress used to read them out in assembly and tell us we should be ashamed.

We had “Up stairs” and “Down stairs” which was fair enough at busy times. However, if you were caught going up the down stairs (or vice versa), you were sent back down. Even if it was during a lesson and you were the only person on the stairs. Rules were rules and using common sense was not allowed.

Let’s say our school was called Bexley Comprehensive School.

In Y11, I remember our form tutor telling the class that many girls in the school were wearing skirts which were much too short. He said that they had acquired the unfortunate local nickname of “the Bexley tarts”. Many of the class laughed and our form tutor said, “and if you found that funny, then you are not my kind of person!”

Did they do swimming nude? What did they wear?

I am shocked at all these walk on the right schools, because we had to walk on the left like you drive on the left on the road.

We girls couldn't wear trousers except in winter when the cold weather rule came in. But actually, they weren't that strict on unform, (apart from no denim,) and most of us wore the more fashionable jade green rather than bottle green, and claimed black jumpers were charcoal grey. There was a funeral in the sixth form for one of the boys, and it was quite clear without prompting that we all knew what the strict interpretation of uniform was, and voluntarily wore it when we felt it really mattered.

Gawd that sounds awful! We had the rule but I never heard of it being enforced. We certainly didn't have names read out to shame us. And what tosser would complain about a child eating a mars bar?! I commuted 10 miles on public transport so I don't think anyone would have been able to catch me!

@EBearhug I don't think the female staff were allowed to wear trousers.

Knew a guy who went to school in Ireland in the '80s.
All the boys in his class were lined up and told not to watch The A-Team and to go to bed when it came on. The girls were told not to watch something else, but I forget what it was.

Our secondary school had a mantra of "there's no such word as can't" which they bandied about a lot. Some teachers more than others. So those who liked that phrase seemed to really think that all children were capable of anything at all if only they bothered trying. "No such word as can't" was a prized teaching method for some of them.

Surprise, surprise, the PE teachers were the worst offenders here. They seemed to think that of course I could run up a steeply positioned long wooden bench and jump off the high bar, which was near the ceiling in the cavernous sports hall. I couldn't and would refuse it.

I don't think it was an actual school rule, but it permeated the whole school and was clearly ridiculous.

PE teachers were a nightmare
70s Scotland and yes the shower checks

@EBearhug we were a walk on the right school. We were told it was to make it harder to draw swords on eachother (history reminder). Swords were not part of the uniform, or permitted in school.

If we were caught dodging showers by the ferocious gym tescher she would shove us into a cold one.

Back in the 1950s my mother's school was no eating in uniform outside school.

Her uniform was also her 'Sunday best'. She was seen by a prefect on a Sunday eating an ice cream when visiting her grandmother.