Primary School in the seventies (or sixties)

[YellowCardiganNavyJoggers]

If you were at primary school in the seventies what are things that today's children would probably be shocked at.

Here's a few of mine.

Teacher kept 'words on paper scraps' in a tobacco tin. You got called out and you had to read the words of the paper. I still remember the green flat tobacco tin.

When someone wet themselves (puddle on floor) and nobody would own up to it the teacher would take each child into the toilet and pretty much feel between their legs to see if they were wet. Can you imagine them being allowed to do that now.

Teacher was bad tempered and strict. Kids were pretty well behaved and quiet. I was quite scared of my teacher and jealous of the other Primary 1 kids who seemed to have nicer, younger teachers.

School 'jotters' - you know the books you got to write in.

Your dad covering things with old wallpaper. I can't remember what it was exactly - was it books or folders? Or was this high school and I am getting mixed up

The highlight of my day was the milk crate. Oh my god I used to get quite excited to get a whole bottle of milk (and straw) to myself. I was always hungry. Typical seventies child living in cold council house with basic and scarce diet. That bottle of milk was looked forward to each day so much. To this day I still love drinking milk and always have pints and pints of it in the fridge.

Desks with the little pull out drawer underneath. We also sometimes had drawers in a sort of unit with each persons name on a drawer.

Coat hooks outside the classroom with your name beside it and a picture on it. Do they still do this?

Play area in the corner of the room with little cooker etc. I used to love to play on it as we didn't have many toys at home.

Going up to the teachers desk to use 'the big sharpener' on the teachers desk. It was sort of attached to the desk and you stuck your pencil in and turned a handle.

If you were at primary in the seventies (or sixties) what do you remember?

I loved those reading cards! I remember working my way through them and the feeling of accomplishment. Also the independence of being able to finish one and then go on to the next.

All the clapping games and skipping rope rhymes, children's folklore, e.g. "When Billy boy was one," "A sailor went to sea, sea, sea," etc.

Most of my post got cut off 😂

Our teachers were lovely but the headmistress was a mean old bitch. My parents were divorced which was a rarity in the 70s. We had to move a bit further away and my mum wasn’t the best at getting up and I was often late. She would quiz me why and when I said we’d come a long way she’d say ‘on do you live at X’ which was a posh estate at the edge of the catchment. She knew full well I didn’t live there and would sneer when I said where we lived as it wasn’t as smart as an area (although by no means a dump)

Corporal punishment was doled out by the teacher of the oldest class and she had a fearsome reputation as a result. This was a tap on the bum with an plimsoll for naughtiness in assembly or a queue. Although when you got in her class she was a brilliant teacher with a great interest in every child. So why she needed the plimsoll beats me.

There was a rumour of the cane at middle school (or rumours of naughty boys who’d got the cane) but I never saw that. I think corporal punishment was abolished while we were there

The area was very white middle class so there was great excitement when an Indian family started at the school. Up to then the only diversity was a Jewish boy and we only knew he was Jewish as he was the only child who brought packed lunches. Looking back I can’t believe I didn’t meet a none white person until I was 6 or 7 😳

In the early sixties, when I was primary year 5 or 6, our headmaster used to send us to his mother's house with messages. It was about half a mile away and across a main road. The school's outside toilets were cold and smelly and if the class bully (I can still remember her name) didn't like you, she made you sit there all playtime being the Sheriff of Nottingham while she, Robin Hood, led her merry men round the playground. The boys were smacked on the bottom with a slipper for misbehaving. But Robin Hood got away with it because she was a girl.

Huddling up together outside because we had to “go out to play” even when it was freezing cold.

Warming hands on radiators and getting chilblains

Tracing paper toilet paper

Being smacked and made to stand in the corner of the room facing away from the class for the lesson

Sharing left over milk on mat and listening to a story before home time

Place chairs on the desks or tables at the end of the day so the cleaners could do the floors.

I was a school in the 1960s.
The worse thing was the school milk, which I could never finish, but had to miss playtime, as I struggled with it all through play time.
It was totally disgusting, and I still can't drink milk on its own (or maybe it was being forced to drink the school milk that put me off).
The 2nd worse thing was school dinners. I once refused, and was made to sit there all afternoon, with lumpy mashed potato and cabbage. These put me off so many foods, and made me extremely fussy over food. I was 30 years before I could eat cabbage again. (I always refused the slab of leather style cold meat, but we had to get the mashed potato and cabbage)
In the 4th year (now year 6), there were 44 children in our class, which I mention to compare to today's smaller classes.
We always sat at desks (only on the floor in the hall for assembly), and always faced the front and the teacher.

I can remember being in P2 and the minister's son in P1 wasn't well. My friend and I were deemed to be sensible girls and were allowed to take him home. We had to go right across the other side of town and cross several roads!

@TheCoatThatLaunched1000Emailsa couple of us were allowed to come in at lunchtime to put the SRA cards into the pupils' books. Of course we memorised the answer key for our own cards. We were praised in front of the class for continually getting 100%.

42 pupils minimum per class .... no composite classes..
School finishing at 3.50 every day...
Times tables repeated over and over....

This thread has brought back so many memories. I started school in 1967. As well as what's already here, I'm now thinking about

The radio programmes, when the teacher got up on a chair to switch on the radio which was mounted high on the wall. Singing Together has already been mentioned, but there was also Time and Tune which had a theme or storyline each term - I remember there was one term when the songs were based on Sleeping Beauty, and another term on the Incas, which the teacher made into our topic for the term. Also in 4th year juniors a programme called Man, which started with evolution and the dinosaurs, but eventually became a sort of social anthropology programme. I remember an episode about the caste system in India which made a huge impression on me. The first few programmes our teacher, Mrs Menzies, wrote notes on the board for us to copy down while the programme was on, to show us how notes should be made. Then we had to do it on our own, while she probably sat at the teacher's desk and got on with marking books or some such. You had to write up your notes for homework, so woe betide you if your notes hadn't been up to scratch, you'd be relying on your memory. I found it very hard at the time, but it taught us the skill of note-taking which was very handy in secondary school!

We had an infant playground, a junior playground, and "boys' grass" which the older boys could use. They weren't supposed to play football or rough-and-tumble games on the normal playground, those were only allowed on boys' grass. I think they were allowed to play fight there as well.

We sang some brilliant, if mystifying, hymns. There was the one with the line "Where children wade in rice fields and watch the camel trains" which made me think of fields a bit like paddling pools full of rice grains, and camels riding on British Rail. And "hear us when we cry to thee, for those in peril on the sea". I thought Peril-On-the-Sea was a seaside resort in the style of Walton-on-the-Naze, and I wondered what was so bad about it that we had to pray for its citizens.

Shaking hands with the teacher at the end of the day - after we put our chairs up we had to stand behind them, and the teacher would call us out one-by-one for a handshake and a "Good afternoon, Mrs Menzies".

The ultimate accolade of being sent to the headmistress for a silver star, or better still, a gold star, on our work. She would ask the lucky recipient what they'd done to deserve it. I was always too overcome by the honour and by awe at being in her office to actually be able to speak, so I just had to shove my book at her and hope for the best.

Hating all school puddings except for Arctic Roll which we called snake pudding (because we'd unwrap the Swiss roll part first). We only got it once or twice a term, the rest of the time it was disgusting things like spotted dick and revolting custard and you weren't allowed to leave until you'd finished it.

I still remember the smell from opening my new recorder in it’s green box & learning Greensleeves & some girls would sit at the front in assembly & play as we sang the hymns.
Loved it when the maypole came out & some kids were chosen to do maypole dancing at the school fete.

Born 75 so this was early 80's a freezing cold outdoor swimming pool in all weather's it horrendous...

Another thing. I was being horrible bullied by a group of girls. Really nasty verbal stuff about me. I went with my friend to a teacher - she was one of the older ones and she just laughed and said 'sticks and stones may break my bones, but names will never hurt me. Now off you go'.
Awful

We lived through all this, survived and didn’t need years of therapy to get over it. There were lots wrong in the 60s, but lots good too! At least we were able to play out on the streets and go to the local park with no helicopter parents around

Wow that sounds so fun.
Can i ask what jobs your parent did, for you to go boarding school back then?

Sorry my previous message was for @DilemmaDelilah

100% this.

Dont know if anyone has mentioned or even remembered this gem..
Rural Primary school in the 70's , each year we got to watch a film about the dangers of farms etc highlighting how easily it was to die in an accident
It was called "Apache" ( like 10 little Indians) and each child died in an horrific way, electrocution, drowning in slurry etc
Marvellous memories 😵‍💫😵

Wow that sounds so fun.
Can i ask what jobs your parent did, for you to go boarding school back then?

I can sympathise.
It was common to be given a "hiding" by the bullies, although bully/ing wasn't a term that was used then. I can vividly remember 55 years later, being pushed against a wall by a boy in my class (P6), kicked, punched and my hair pulled. When I told the teacher she said, 'Tell your mother". When I told my mother, she did nothing. She taught at my school and didn't want to make a fuss

60's for me in the U.S. Girls always wore dresses. Most kids walked to school. We were taught cursive writing which they don't anymore. Another obsolete thing: We were given the polio vaccine orally on a sugar cube. Another odd thing I remember is the white paste we used in art class. It had a winter green smell and some kids used to eat it!

School milk- I hated it.
Where you sat in class was determined by where you came in the ( half termly) tests- maths, spelling, verbal/ non verbal reasoning. You worked hard because you didn’t want to be moved away from your friends.
The throwing of the blackboard rubber at anyone who misbehaved.
The TV and video player being wheeled in on a big trolley to watch something deemed relevant.
40 children in a class and no TA. I don’t remember anyone having special needs. Everyone just got on with it. I guess there were children who were less able .
One boy had a dad who was a fireman. He was allowed to go on holiday in term time due to the fireman’s rota. It was explained to all of us why this exception was made.
Playtime games. Kiss chase, It, Conkers, clackers, magnifying glasses to burn holes in dead leaves.
Making things out of toilet rolls and cigarette packets.
Compulsory school meals which you had to eat completely ( I hated dumplings and the pork and pineapple curry). No one appeared to have allergies.
Walking to school with my friends. We lived about a mile away and everyone met at the bus stop and walked together through the town crossing the main road with the lollipop lady from the age of about 8. Walked home again afterwards and let ourselves in . Mum and dad worked, no childminders or after school club. Always made a jam sandwich for a snack and then watched Blue Peter on TV.
I was in primary school from 1969 and loved every day of it.

We had a white glue that smelt like almonds and little white spatulas, good for flicking stuff 😃

Also a lot of mums who were unqualified and unpaid but took us for games, or clubs, or swimming, or arts n crafts and choir or music.

The chalk board duster (felt pad in wooden handle) being aimed at whoever caused trouble.
The shiny loo paper which just skidded off your bum.
The best was the metal climbing frame in the infant playground, looked like scaffolding poles welded at the corners to create a large maze of cubes. Concrete underneath. Most terms someone would come off it and break a bone or two.

Going home for lunch and being asked to buy fags for the teachers because I lived next to the village shop.

Entrusted to leave school during a lesson, walk to the teacher's house, collect craft materials from her shed and return with them. My mum was her cleaning lady so I was familiar with the house.

Spending several days cutting triangles out of red, white and blue fertiliser sacks to be made into bunting for the 1977 jubilee celebrations. Imagine the toxic chemicals!

After passing the 11+, being sent with the rest of the 'clever kids' to cover all the new text and reading books in sticky back plastic. We sat in the school house, unsupervised, for days! It was great. I think it was an early gifted and talented programme. I learned a skill that later impressed my kids!!

As a girl, sitting inside sewing during the 1976 heatwave when the boys were outside playing cricket. I did kick up a stink about that and was eventually allowed to join the boys. Sadly, on my first go batting I was caught out - returned to the sewing room in shame. Still can't sew, or play cricket!

Outside bogs and toilet paper that doubled as tracing paper!

So many more memories - mostly happy!

Primary school: Punishment being administered during assembly eg. bent over and smacked with a slipper in front of the school. Being made to wash my mouth out with school soap for swearing or talking too much. Digging the school driveway out when it was snowy (5 to 9 year olds) so the teachers could park their cars.

I started primary in late 70’s and remember the blackboards and chalk, little milk bottles delivered in crates and it used to sit on the side in the classroom until break time and if it was a hot day it got all warm.
The nit nurse who used to come in wearing a white coat, she had a beehive hairdo and we called her ‘nitty natty Nora the flea explorer’. We would all line up and she would check our hair.
I remember the big dining hall with plastic tray type plates, pink custard and jelly served in small glasses with a dob of cream and a kind of sugared triangle on top.
huge metal climbing frames in the playground with concrete underneath.
PE was done wearing huge navy type knickers and a white top for the girls. Climbing a rope in the hall with a 2” thin mat underneath!
Toilet block was in the playground that was old and scary (Victorian school) and hard toilet paper in sheets.
Being made to do country dancing and around a maypole.