Do secondary school pupils usually shower after PE in state schools?

[AnnesPuffedSleeves]

Is it normal/common/unusual for Secondary school pupils to shower on school after PE? DH and I are discussing it and we have no real idea as our DC isn’t the age yet. He assumes they do, I assume they don’t. Who is right? I’m talking normal state schools, not private.

Same. That was in a private school. The (female) PE teacher later had an affair with one of the 6th formers but it was all hushed up

I was at secondary in the early 80s. We never showered due to lack of space - me and my friends actually got changed in the shower area.

DD was at secondary 10-15 years ago - never had a shower - PE was a double, ie about 80 mins - there isn't time for a decent game of say football/hockey is they have to allow for showering as well as changing. Also, not enough showers.

We had to shower when I was at school in the 80s but it appeared to have stopped by the time I was teaching in the 90 s. After PE classrooms stank of lynx in competing scents.

I've mostly blocked out the horrors of communal showers after PE in the late 80s

Worked in several secondary schools since c2010 and no child has ever showered after pe.
Classes are 60 minutes long and generally followed by another lesson or break where staff are on duty so with register, changing, moving to sports hall, activity, return to changing rooms and changing there is little time to spare. Huge HUGE safeguarding challenges for communal showering never mind space and faff for all concerned (you ever led a 50-strong group of y9 girls back to get changed after 30 minutes playing hockey on an icy field..?)

I showered at school after PE, we only had a bath at home so I loved the chance of a shower. I was big in to sport and was in the Cross Country team which back then involved running through the local stream and a lot of mud, they sent us out in a blizzard once.

We had to shower at my secondary school in the 1990s. We had four sets of changing rooms (two for girls, two for boys), they all had showers. With the girls, the gym changing room had communal showers, and the outdoor sports changing room had cubicles, but with no curtains or doors.

I hated it. I was incredibly self conscious, and the showers were always on the cold side. The teachers used to check that we all had showered, and anyone trying to get out of it by explaining that they were on their period would get a loud public lecture in front of the entire changing room that life carries on during menstruation.

My teenage ds has pe first thing today so I chucked his deodorant at him - I pity the teachers that have those boys for the rest of the day!

We showered after PE - communal showers, much like others with the PE teacher supervising and handing back towels after showering. We didn't shower after games which was whole year group but that was always the last lesson of the day so no sitting in classrooms afterwards. I left school in 1996

In primary school we wore the same gym kit all term, only used to be taken home for washing at the end of term!

No

my son said they literally have 2 minutes to get changed back into their uniform

My experience, back in the dark ages of the 80s, was that the PE teacher let the class go to get changed 30 seconds before the bell rang for you to go to your next class. No-one had time for showers. If it was swimming you didn’t even have time to dry yourself properly.

Hard to imagine no students are showering or given enough time to do so after PE. Very unhygienic and the smell of sweat in subsequent lessons must be awful! I used to enjoy the hot showers at school after games and swimming as we only had a bath at home.

I was at school in the 80s and remember having to have communal showers and being watched over by 2 teachers .
You were made to go through again if you tried to make it quick.
Absolutely horrendous memories of PE lessons.

There is nothing like the smell of 30 teenage boys in a classroom with windows that don’t open. Bad enough on hot days, but after PE it is next level gross. 🤢

I’m sure things have changed now, but I hope there’s a special place in Hell for some PE teachers from the 70s/80s for a number of reasons.

We didn't in the 00s, even after rugby where the stated aim by the teachers was for us to get as dirty as possible, they literally had us rolling down hills for warm ups 😕 Strangely I don't remember everyone smelling for the rest of the day but perhaps I've blanked it out! It was a relief because I remember being really worried about it before I started secondary school.

Oh my goodness communal showers in the 80s, just horrific, and yes you were watched. We were excused from showering if you had your period but the PE teacher kept a record. I can see her now with her permed hair, tracksuit and hardback book and pencil noting down who was on their period. It's hard to believe nowadays.

I'm surprised that cleanliness is no longer thought to be important in schools.
We had a walk-through shower , probably 6-8 shoulder-high jets, no soap.

In the 90’s we were forced too, had ‘checks’ not cool, led to endless bullying and PE avoidance by many!
my eldest has just started secondary, there are showers there but as of yet he hasn’t been made to use them… he’s stressing about it 😵‍💫 reading the replies the practicality of time wouldn’t allow for it. They only get single lessons of 1 hour,
unless when they’re older they have doubles maybe then?

Cleanliness is obviously important, but to have teachers watch you and make a note of your periods is fucking barbaric.

My school was newly built in 2007 (when I started year 7) and the changing rooms included showers which were never used during my time. I don’t know why they even bothered. Anyone that thought of using them would’ve had the piss taken out of them too.

Mine too, dreaded it! She would hold our towels and bot give them to us until she was sure we had showered properly 😮

yeah and mine in the early 90s
but i think they gave up. What insecure teen wants to shower infront of their peers?

No. Mine never did. They always had clean PE kit for every lesson.

Hardly anyone showered after PE in the 80's either, I certainly never did. PE was bullying central so it was best to change and get out as fast as possible.

No

Only after muddy winter sports (rugby?) and swimming. Not after just normal pe lessons. School in 00s.