Stupid rules you remember at your school

[notedbiscuits]

OK I remember these:
. If you had PE last period, you had to get changed before leaving. For two years (before I moved to the next village), I lived ten minute walk from high school to home. I wasn't going to get changed into uniform for me to get changed 10-15 mins later. Behind the mobile changing rooms, there was a gap between hedge and fence which brought you onto the road. Myself and a few who lived a similar distance to me (though in different directions) used to sneak off behind the changing rooms.

, One way system. This was to prevent fights in a couple of corridors. For about 6 weeks I was on crutches and twice a week I had a lesson in one classroom and then in another classroom, which was the furthest away in the one way system. I wasn't allowed to hobble in the opposite direction. I had to go around the entire school.

. If unable to do PE, had to stand outside (if class was doing outside PE). Not allowed a chair or stool to sit on when I had crutches. Wasn't allowed a coat either. Why? Fortunately both PE sessions were last period and my parents took me home after the previous lesson. Why couldn't I sit in the library as that was manned all the time.

. Toilets assigned to different year groups. No idea why that happened. I had very very heavy periods during this time and had a night time pad I had to change every 1-2 hours. I had to visit the loos for whatever year group I was in at the time, going around the one way system and got a rollocking from the teachers for being late.

I went to this school 92-95 for info.

Our school does this also. Fucking nuts.

Kill me now!

After PE we had to shower then queue to show the teacher we was wet because no one liked having a shower! It’s crazy. I can remember the anxiety of it now.

Primary school nursery class had a large dressing up box. But it was very stereotypical and there were "boys costumes" and " girls costumes". No swapping. There was also a boys side and girls side in the main playground.

We had to wear black 'outdoor' shoes to and from school. At school we had to change into and wear red 'indoor' shoes. The red shoes stayed at school overnight. You didn't have to bring them in/take them home daily.

Thank you for reminding me why I home educate my kids. Things have not improved!

I had blue sweatshirt fabric PE knickers, and I remember the drama when the head agreed to allow very specific cycling shorts under PE skirts instead. She was fab! But there were complaints from parents who thought it was insufficiently smart. Ffs.

My mum was at a Catholic school in the 60s, and they had to line up in the playground for knicker inspection by the nuns, in full view of the neighbours! They had to wear PE knickers all day so boys wouldn't get a glimpse of real knicker. But local pervs were presumably fine.

Boys had to wear short trousers until they were 8.

One way system - made sense, but if you had just left a classroom and forgot something, you literally weren't allowed to turn round and walk back in

Coats off before you came in from the playground

Teacher would check you'd showered after PE by pulling your towels off to see if you were fully undressed (wtf)

PE in your underwear if forgot kit (no wonder so many kids were put off by PE!)

Toilet monitors in primary school - you had to specify whether you wanted two or three sheets of tracing paper type toilet roll, toilet monitor would hand it to you and you'd then go into a cubicle to do your business.

We also said a prayer at the beginning of every lesson. Mainly in English but if a language lesson then naturally the prayer would be said in French, German, Spanish, Latin or Irish. 9 periods per day with barely any doubles.

You gotta love dem nuns!

Plus a lot of the lay teachers wore academic gowns.

Great song 🎵

My high school had an (outdoor) swimming pool and you would have to take the long walk from the changing rooms to the pool through the school corridors and across the playground In your swimsuit trying to hide behind a towel. If you were on your period and could not swim you had to run loops around the pool and boys playing football instead

Some are patently ridiculous. Take, for example, the rule for girls' socks at my school.

Girls in years 1-3 could wear white or black socks, or black opaque tights. White socks could be long all year round, or short in the summer term only. White long socks could - in the summer term only - be rolled or folded down to short length, but not scrunched down. Black socks could only be long and not be scrunched, or rolled or folded. Those in years 4 and up had the additonal options of sheer, nude or black tights but could not wear opaque tights or long white socks.

There was a separate set of rules for PE socks.

For comparison, the rule for boys' socks was: black.

Although they had more complex PE-sock rules, and needed different ones for football and rugby.

I had to have fully black school shoes. Once a teacher made me colour in a tiny blue logo on my shoes with a black marker pen. If we had voice and/or instrument lessons (I did both) then it was compulsory to be in the school choir and orchestra and rehearse during our lunch hours, for the whole hour instead of having lunch. Most days I didn’t eat until I got home. Class detentions were a regular and acceptable punishment. I was in an awful form. I was a quiet girl who never broke the rules and always did as I was told and I was constantly in detention just because of the class I was in. I was at this school from 2009-2015.

We had few formal rules in my single sex grammar school that I was aware of. Only ones about standing for teachers, or any adult coming into a room, and waiting outside laboratories until let in by an adult.

However, we also had a headmistress who got bees in her bonnet. She wore her black gown and mortar board in assembly and delivered her instructions whilst standing on one leg.

One of her assembly exhortations went down in history "Ladies" (yes, we were ladies from age 12) "Please don't persecute the ducks." I think she was hoping for ducklings from the mallard pair who took up residence on the school field over the Easter holiday one year.

The other thing she got aerated about was chewing gum. "Gum, ladies, is a disgusting habit." And one she instituted the punishment of "gum picking" for. If caught we were armed with half a pair of scissors and sent to check the bottom of every desk chipping off any offending blob.

Ahhh PE knickers.

Ours were bright purple. Tshirtvtucked in, can't be scruffy
Cross Country in the local park drew a crowd...

We had to MAKE PE skirts. And a pump bag.

We had to embroider our initials on the PE bag and cooking apron in our house colours.

No trousers allowed, knee length skirt only, not even to travel to/from school, even in snow. Also white cotton socks, again even in snow. Pink gingham dresses for summer. I was lucky they had ditched the hats a year or so before.

A uniform overall to wear in art and science lessons. I don't think that was embroidered.

We had to have a cookery basket. It didn't matter what you were cooking the ingredients had to be in the cookery basket when you arrived and what ever you cooked went in it to go home.

We had to cover all text books and exercise books. Text books were given out covered in brown paper, we had to add our own paper over the top.

We had to walk on the right side of the corridor, now, 40 years later I still tend to walk on the right of any corridor.

As for patent shoes, one girl had to spend an entire day standing on a desk because she had worn patent shoes to school.

Does anyone remember rats' tails? Short hair but with one bit left about 6in long, usually plaited and a bow on the end. Yep they were banned.

Earings. The rules evolved. Studs or sleepers only, one in each ear, one in each ear in the matching hole.

I wonder how we had time to learn anything in between following rules.

Oh and this was a comp that had been a secondary modern school.