Secondary School - first day

[80sChav]

With regards to the good old school tie, it was so ironic that the teachers used to make us wear something around out necks that bullies could easily strangle you with.

On this subject - my abiding memory is being told we'd be made to do our Tie properly not thin side out when we got to our Form Rooms ... this lasted about a week (if that) being enforced!, though the Teachers tried to try to enforce it with limited sucess!

[George 1978]

With regards to the good old school tie, it was so ironic that the teachers used to make us wear something around out necks that bullies could easily strangle you with.

[Big Tim]

Although it will be thirty years in September, I remember my first day at secondary school well.

We had evening visits to schools in our catchment area, before making our preferences - probably during Autumn term in the last year of primary school. It was actually quite enjoyable, as the schools "showed themselves off" with current pupils (obviously the well behaved, polite and academically gifted ones) demonstrating the interesting practical subjects - yes, you too can make this delicious Sticky Toffee Pudding, or play "educational" computer games every week in maths! No mention of the headbangers trying to set you on fire in chemistry with a bunsen burner, though!

However, during our last term at primary school, we were all taken out in the school minibus on different days to have a couple of hours - and lunch - at whichever secondary school we had been assigned to for a look around. I remember it being a huge contrast to what I had been settled with at a primary school in the leafy suburbs. This was literally like going from a quiet, sedate backwater to a constant whirlwind of frenzied activity. As a comparison, it was like squaring up some sleepy backwater such as Keswick or Pickering with Inner City London. To be honest, it made the prospect of going to secondary more daunting than before having even seen the place.

Our first day was a shortened one - and for Year 7 and Lower Sixth Form students only. Almost an induction day. We were all summoned to the main hall - around 250 or so of us, and our names called very slowly to inform us of our "tutor groups" (essentially where we registered from years 7-11, and in year 7 had all our lessons as a class, before being split into groups of ability from year 8 onwards). Of course, I was in form 7H - the last to be called, and this took a good couple of hours sitting listening in the hope your name would be called before you had lost the will to live! Every form, where possible had at least two others from the same primary school, so some familiar faces would be there. Once we had trudged out of the hall, we were taken to our new "form room" which was a temporary building / "mobile", which somewhat ironically had been positioned at the school over a dozen years previous, and were still there until a few years ago. Pretty primitive things, which were like greenhouses in summer, and iceboxes in winter. My form tutor was the mum of one of my primary school classmates, and really easy going and approachable (in upper school, my form tutor was a neighbour and a customer of my dad's garage, so I was looked upon favourably if any issues arose!).

The first day more or less finished off with a couple of tours of the school, filling out timetables, getting the dreaded "homework diary" allocated, and being bombarded with rules, lunchtime etiquette etc. It was actually not too bad, but the following day with over 1000 more pupils on site the place felt scary for a week or two until we got a bit more settled.

[George 1978]

Re: Secondary School - first day

By the way, I meant 12.15 pm for Lunchtime and not 12.15 am.

[George 1978]

Re: Secondary School - first day

Tuesday 5th September 1989 - the first day was a Tuesday probably because the Monday was Teacher Training Day. The whole form were in school uniform for the first time - only two of them who was at my previous school was in my form. Ironically for a school where all girls had to wear skirts just three or four years previously (my sister was one of them); trousers were now an option for the girls, and all the girls wore them, which I think helped with the equality within both genders with regards to the school uniform.

Our Form Tutor wrote out our new timetable on our form room's blackboard where it remained for at least three weeks. The timetable for that day was "Skills" which may have been a PSE-alike lesson; English; Science (with a Hankin out of Grange Hill prototype). After lunch it was Music; and we had PE where we got changed in the boys' changing room and went into the gymnasium.

The Inset day a couple of months before was also on a Tuesday, and we also had the English and Music lessons on that day as well.

The times of the school day was as follows:

8.45 am - Tutor Period (Wednesday: Year assembly - Friday: all-school assembly)
9.15 am - Period 1
10.10 am - Period 2
11.05 am - Morning Breaktime
11.20 am - Period 3
12.15 pm - Lunchtime
1.25 pm - Afternoon registration
1.30 pm - Period 4
2.25 pm - Afternoon Breaktime
2.40 pm - Period 5
3.35 pm - End of the school day

This was also the First Year timetable: (Lessons 1 to 5 in order from the start to the end of the school day).

MONDAY: Maths; Languages (German); Science; English; Humanities.
TUESDAY: Skills; English; Science; Music; PE.
WEDNESDAY: English; Humanities; Maths; Swimming; Home Economics.
THURSDAY: CDT; Art; Languages; PST (Practical Science and Technology - a combination of Science and CDT); English.
FRIDAY: Humanities; Maths; PE; Languages; Drama.

What was needed for each lesson (in addition to school uniform, homework and stationery - pens, pencils, etc):

ENGLISH: English dictionary
MATHS: Calculator
LANGUAGES: German dictionary
PE: PE Kit of shorts or tracksuit and trainers
SWIMMING: Swimming trunks and towel
HOME ECONOMICS: Food ingredients for recipe
DRAMA: Trainers

It wasn't called Year 7, 8, 9, etc until I was in the Third Year (Year 9).

[80sChav]

Re: Secondary School - first day

As well on our first day in Year 7/First Year an abiding memory - from the mega Assembly Hall was being told that anybody who had worn their Ties thin side out would be made to change them in the Form-Room .... though I am sure this was only a Tactic aimed at First Years (and if we had had the greatest pwerfull thing that is Hindsight) that we would have copied the older Years knowing what I we/know now!

80sChav

[80sChav]

Re: Secondary School - first day

As Big kid as said - yer we had this where we mingled with the older years

One of my abiding memories of the 1st day par what i have said is well connected to what Big Kid has said (in how I met this 5th year) who was my first real crush that I hoped would lead to a girlfriend - though sadly not, but if sher was'nt a prefect (as she was not), that title should have been given to her as she sure helped all us "tough looking" (as we thought) first years in those early days. This probably is more of an abiding memory than most lessons (that remain very hazy at best)!


80sChav

Re: Secondary School - first day

on the first day of secondary school, a few of us all walked together. some of the lads had been there already and were in the fourth year. when we arrived, us newbies were assigned to out classrooms. the teacher was ok, games was the first lesson that we had, the teacher was called mr. crank. truly awesome guy. hell of a shot with a basketball as well, as one of the scrotes found out.

come lunch time, we were supposed to go to the dining hall. the queue was horrendous, so we walked out and went to the bakery around the corner.

after lunch we had a few lessons. not sure what they were as it was a while back.

i was glad when that first day was over.

[marc]

Re: Secondary School - first day

Before we actually started secondary school, we attended secondary school for a two day trial/introduction in July just before the school summer holidays. I can't remember much about it except that the was some banter between us boys and the female prefect who was assigned to watch over us during break, lunch time and walking between classrooms and buildings between lessons. The school seemed to be OK then.

Come the glorious September morning....

Getting up from bed wasn't the big problem, it was wearing that blasted uniform for the first time. New shoes, trousers, shirt, V-neck pullover, it all felt uncomfortable added with the choker, sorry, tie. I had dictated earlier that I had no intention of wearing it.

My mother's dictating was far stronger than mine!

I walked to school with a friend who lived two doors away. He was a year older than me. I think I moaned all the way into the school yard. We already knew where our registration room was. There was no problem, and we had already met our form teacher. I don't think we had assembly that morning, has I remember her explaining things to us, and making sure our emergency contact details were all correct.

Then to our first lesson, P.E.

I have never been keen on this, has I have never really been interested in sport. I decided I would put some enthusiasm into it. My thoughts were, A NEW SCHOOL! GIVE IT SOME ENTHUSIASM! On with the P.E. kit. Outside we were told to rune twice around the yard. This I did with some enthusiasm. Then.....

Into three teams....Six-a-side football. A game I detest with total hatred. I can't remember much other than walking around in some direction to the action. The ball came towards me so I gave it a kick...over somebodies head. The teacher blew his whistle...followed by a lecture about not kicking the ball up in the air when there was only six on each side. Each game would only last for so many minutes has there were three teams. Back playing the teacher shouted to me to "GET IN ON THE ACTION!" I ran towards where four boys were tackling the ball. The ball again came towards me, I ran forward and kicked it towards the goal...The whistle was blown again. "YOU WERE OVER THAT LINE!" He yelled at me again. I did very little for the rest of the lesson.

I was a little peeved off but a couple of minutes into break, I decided I would forget about it.

After break, was the French lesson. Nobody else had any knowledge of this, so we were all in the same boat. Again we entered the room with tremendous enthusiasm........That's when I first came face to face with the little runt, Mr Phipps. I can't remember much about what we wrote in our exercise books, it was more of his dictating. How much homework we would be given. Detentions were freely given for not doing homework. He openly admitted he was a disciplinarian. A text book was given to each of us. This had to be covered with paper. Anybody who did not cover it, would be given a text book with pages that were falling out and covers falling off. He admitted he did not care if the parents complained, that would be that. It turned out to be a long lesson. One hour and ten minutes seemed like an eternity.

I can't remember anything about the lunch time or the afternoon, but I do remember about arriving home.

My grandmother was living with us at the time. She asked what it was like. I put a brave face on and said it was quite good. Looking back, I wish I had told her I hated the place. Evan by the first Christmas, I had made my mind up I would leave at the end of the fifth year regardless of any qualifications.

Has a footnote, I rarely see anybody I was in secondary school with. Recently I bumped in to somebody who was in school with me. The conversation came up about that school. Like me, that person mentioned that first French lesson and the impact it had.

[80sChav]

Re: Secondary School - first day

I also recall receieving - I don't know if anyone else had a similar booklet, a booklet on the school too and still have this now (though it is held together by thread and the paper has nearly fallen apart), this was one of the best thing's (if not the best, par learning to have to look for yourself or suffer the repercuisions)


It is a great book this (I may try and scan it for here one day, if anyone was interested but minus the School's name etc). It had a brilliant amount of information and somehow though I hated the place with a minumal tnge of appreciation, I will always have time for it and never ever bin it. A real gem from the past, but how the string that threads through the priniting paper it was made on, before Computers took over such a mantle from a Typwriter - this is amzing how it still stay's together I think.

80sChav

[darren]

Re: Secondary School - first day

how confusing richard.


all our periods where 35 mins long for the time i was there no red or blue week or different sounding bells on different days.

i found it hard enough finding my way without that confusion.

My school had a red week and a blue week, & in 1 or 2 years there was an odd day where all the periods were 5 minutes shorter so there were 7 in a day.

The bells had a different ring on those days just to add to the confusion.

My school had 2 buildings which meant some days had a lot of walking between them.

[Trickyvee]

Re: Secondary School - first day

My school had a red week and a blue week, & in 1 or 2 years there was an odd day where all the periods were 5 minutes shorter so there were 7 in a day.

The bells had a different ring on those days just to add to the confusion.

My school had 2 buildings which meant some days had a lot of walking between them.

I remember there were five 1 hour lessons per day when I first started but then it changed to 50 min lessons in 3rd year, with an extra one squeezed in each day. Two bell rings for lesson change, one bell ring for the janitor, multiple short rings for something or other, continuous ring get the hell out!

[darren]

Re: Secondary School - first day

yes it was quite a shock arriving at my secondary school for the first time.
i was so nervous and the school clounagh jnr high was massive.

first day itself was not to bad.

me getting put into my class finding out my form teacher etc

of course i asked how to get to certain classes and id be sent all over the school only to find the classroom was right near me.
at a guess id say there where over a thousand pupils which was a big inxcrease on my primary school.
we where all nervous and the teachers where stressed out.

[battyrat]

Re: Secondary School - first day

First day was mostly getting all the books and timetables sorted out.Quickly getting into a little group with other lads who quickly became your best buddies and worse enemys for the rest of your school life.Getting lost at every opertunity that arose between going to your classes.And quickly learning which teachers were a push over or tyrant.It was also the time we tried to find certain places to hide out,but teachers knew them all as I suppose in the past it had been tried by other pupils.There was also the rumours of the second years hating the first years and so forth and the fifth year hating everybody,not including the school ghost story which was still being told when my youngest brother went there some 15 years later or so(the ghostly janiter.....handyman in my day).We were all called into the hall and given a good talking to on our first day there and given a bible each without the teachers even considering what faith the pupils had of their own.We were made to put our names and address into it before they let us go.

[Sly]

Re: Secondary School - first day

The first day at high school was an odd one. I went from a school that was a 5 minute walk from home, had about 80 pupils and where classes were took in the same room to a school where tings got turned completely on their heads.

The first day saw me taking the first of many 8am buses to school, at this time I was often one of the first people in, occasionally there would be 1 or 2 classmates but usually it was just me sat on my own until more classmates came in. The first day had me wandering around the various corridors trying to remember the open night I came to before the 6 week holidays. Eventually I managed to retrace my footsteps to C39, a class right next to the aviary in the maths block of the school.

Slowly new classmates dribbled into place, all segregating into their respective schools where they had come from. I was unlucky, none of my close riends had made it into the same form I had made it into. Eventually our teacher came and started barking orders out at us, she had a plan already in place where she lined us up in order of age, stood us up and the front and let us talk about ourselves before being told where to sit. After this we were given school organisers and told which classes we had. In the first year we had a really weird system where we'd have what they termed 'double' lessons, which were basically two 30 minute slots added on to each other. At least this time around every single student in the room was running off the same timetable, something which wouldn't be repeated in future years.

Once all the important stuff was done, we were given a little carton triangle that we had to put our names on. These were to be taken from class to class and displayed on your desk so teachers could learn your name. I didn't need mine long, some of the teachers might have been dumb, but it didn't take long for them to figure out who I was and that I was a smart a*se.

The school actually seemed empty, for year 7 students they had a week long duration where they were the only forms there, other than the people studying in 6th form. I remember once asking a 6th former direction to a class room I was looking for, gesturing to my organiser. She showed me the long way round, after walking me literally all over the school grounds I ended up back at the place I started, turns out I only had to go through the double doors I was stood next to and I'd of being there.

The most vivid memory I have of that day was the last lesson of the day. It was a 30 minute session of English with one of the old guard, a woman so fierce she had a reputation even outside of her own jurisdiction in the school. After teaching us for 25 minutes, she asks all of the class to take our organisers out. She then gave us homework that had to be done for the following day. For many of us it was the first time we'd ever had to take work home from school. It didn't really bother me, because I was a smart a*se with lazy tendency at my previous school I'd had it forced on me a few years earlier. I managed to deal with it quite well because of this reason.

I think that's about it for this entry, there are other things I could talk about, but I don't think this thead is the place for them. Maybe if the thread evolves enough to warrant another episode I'll come back and do another post.