Would you consider swearing to be the norm in Y7 of secondary school?

[SurprisedM]

I have a DS who has recently started Year 7 of secondary school. The school was rated as requiring improvement in several areas by Ofsted in its most recent inspection (2022). DS has said that he has witnessed multiple instances of other pupils swearing during breaks or in the corridors. He has heard fuck, shit and various offensive words, some of which could be considered as homophobic or misogynistic. I am slightly aghast 😱at this behaviour, particularly coming from 11 year olds. Is this the norm nowadays or would you expect this not to be happening at a good school? It's a state school in a relatively deprived area in NW England.

Normal.

Unfortunately yes I would consider it normal, and not just at state school. There is a big difference between Y6 at Primary school and Y7 at Secondary. My dd goes to an ‘Outstanding’ Secondary school in a nice area and swearing is definitely happening, and sadly so are homophobic slurs. It’s awful but I have friends whose children go to Independent schools and the swearing is prevalent there too.

Normal, though I would be unhappy with my DS doing it.

Its normal in primary school never mind secondary.

Yes and sadly vaping as well! And one of mine went to a highly rated grammar

I’m pretty sure I was swearing at 11.

Normal. No idea what the Ofsted rating has to do with it.

Normal.

I would be absolutely astonished if swearing wasn't happening at a secondary school tbh.

Im fairly sure my daughter hears it at school as the yr 7s are mixed in with up to yr 13s in the corridors and at break and at lunch. But shes not doing it herself yet. Id rather they didnt swear and we dont in ordinary conversation but its also not hugely taboo. So no i wouldn’t be aghast. But then again i have older
kids.

Totally normal.

Totally normal in my very naice private school in the 1990s!

Of course, especially in a rough northern school requiring improvement, swearing will be the least of the problems.

Vaping, bullying, abuse towards staff, smoking, weed use, petty crime are de facto in many schools across the country, it would be reasonable to assume this school will be no different.

Parental apathy and emboldened pupils are a real gem to watch play out real time.

Normal now, and frankly worse when I was at school. I went to a rough state school for y7 and y8. Swearing, graffiti, smoking in the toilets, smoking around town in school uniform. This was in the early 90s!

Was normal in my Yorks grammar school in 90s and normal in DDs NE independent school now.

Of course it's normal! I remember being in year seven and freely using the f- word with friends and feeling all liberated and powerful (cringe) 🤭 That was nearly three decades ago!

Normal when I was in year 7 over 20 years ago, normal for my cousins at high school now. They're in big school and they're testing out feeling a bit more grown up. Obviously anything actively discriminatory of any kind should be reported to the school so they can stamp it out but otherwise not unusual or particularly concerning I don't think?

I went to a very well regarded convent school in the late 1970s .... my dad insisted on it, although my primary school friends went to the local comp.

He was horrified when he collected me on the first day and saw all these girls pushing and shoving and using the F word outside by the ice cream van 😁

I’m aghast that you are aghast. Didn’t you go to secondary school?? It’s where I learnt all my swears.

I was 11 over 4 decades ago and cohorts were swearing then. It's certainly a thing, even hear swear words from much younger children in the supermarket these days which makes me sad.

Last year, a Y7 boy cycled into me on the pavement. Judging by the look on his face when I asked what the fuck he was doing on the fucking pavement, I'm not sure he had ever heard an adult swear before 😂 but I'm fairly sure he is an anomaly!

Very normal. Pretty sure it was normal when I was at school back in 90s too so it's nothing new.

Totally normal. Were you never a teenager? We all swore. We thought it made us edgy and grown up haha

Swearing is more casual in the UK than in other societies such as Asia where it is utterly abhorrent to swear to the point that no one dares to ever swear on the media such as TV, radio, social media posts, or any form of communication. In the UK swearing is on all kinds of media even if it's often beeped out or crossed out (for example on mumsnet)

So swearing is often heard in UK secondary schools however you can tell your children that it is not normal and unacceptable.

Normal, when I went to school and now.