Trying to remember schoolbooks from the 80s

[Arran]

I am concluding that primary school English, maths, and science books for kids to use at home were very rare in the 1980s. Am I correct?

[Arran]

Re: Trying to remember schoolbooks from the 80s

Nuffield education was strange by today's standards and based on some radical theories from the 1960s. Some critics of Nuffield claim that it existed in order to sell tons of educational equipment - like ticker timers - to schools.

[Twocky61]

Re: Trying to remember schoolbooks from the 80s

My Family & Other Animals by Gerald Durrel was another iconic school book

[George 1978]

Re: Trying to remember schoolbooks from the 80s

If we separate textbooks from reading books, I remember in Infant school that we had the One Two Three and Away reading books as mentioned above.. Roger Red Hat reminded me of Captain Sensible for obvious reasons.

In Junior school, we had SMP Maths, Nuffield Maths, and something called English Links and Study Skills. We also had the Ginn reading books, at different levels, mostly 7 to 12.

[Pussywillow]

Re: Trying to remember schoolbooks from the 80s

When I was at primary school during the early 70s we use to read the Griffin Pirate books written by Sheila McCullagh. I use to love them, which included characters such as Benjamin the blue pirate, Gregory the green pirate and Roderick the red pirate.
I remembered the books about six years ago, so decided to get the entire collection. Some are even first editions.

The A-level textbook I possessed was by Nelkon and Parker. The pages were ultra thin...you dare not breath on the book.

Yes I recall those pirate books too. In fact they were an integral part of my learning to read. Mid 60's. Didn't realise they were still around in the 70's. I've been looking for them also, but never seen them. Will have another look now you've given me the author and publisher, so thanks.

[Richard1978]

Re: Trying to remember schoolbooks from the 80s

I remember my parents buying the Action Science books while I was at secondary school in the early 1990s so I could use them while doing my homework.

[Arran]

Re: Trying to remember schoolbooks from the 80s

Shops are awash with primary school English, maths, and science books for kids to use at home but could you buy similar books back in the 1980s? I have found O Level and CSE revision books from the 1980s but can't seem to find anything primary school level.

[catflap]

Re: Trying to remember schoolbooks from the 80s

I always liked the Village With Three Corners books. The characters were Roger Red-Hat, Billy Blue-Hat, John and Jennifer Yellow-Hat and Percy Green-Hat (never liked him, he was very stuck-up).

They had some very intriguing stories, the village had a kind of Royston Vasey feel to it and the stories sometimes strayed into paranormal territory, with the mystery of the black stone on the river, and the witches' coven that inhabited the cave under Black Cliff!

Wow I remember that black stone in the river one. It must have made quite an impression to have stayed with me...

[BlitzKid]

Re: Trying to remember schoolbooks from the 80s

I always liked the Village With Three Corners books. The characters were Roger Red-Hat, Billy Blue-Hat, John and Jennifer Yellow-Hat and Percy Green-Hat (never liked him, he was very stuck-up).

They had some very intriguing stories, the village had a kind of Royston Vasey feel to it and the stories sometimes strayed into paranormal territory, with the mystery of the black stone on the river, and the witches' coven that inhabited the cave under Black Cliff!

[battyrat]

Re: Trying to remember schoolbooks from the 80s

Strange looking at those links. The pirate books I certainly remember along with some of the wildlife books which we had in the school library at primary, but the music books we used may of been 50's and 60's text books and I would of used them in the early-mid 70's.It's possible that some of the books we had were ancient.

[Mulletino]

Re: Trying to remember schoolbooks from the 80s

I remember silver and gold colour graded reading books, but can't remember reading them. They came after reading through the Ladybird 1a-12/13b books. They may have been phased out during the 1974-78 period I was at junior school.

I remember those too. We had numbered "Red Books" that we read before moving onto Silver and Gold. I think they were these - http://schoolreading70sbooks.weebly....ld-ridout.html

There are a fair few here too (and tesxt books) in case anyone recognises them - http://schoolreading70sbooks.weebly.com/

[Arran]

Re: Trying to remember schoolbooks from the 80s

ST(P) Mathematics - Secondary school mathematics books that had strange 3D shapes on the cover. An updated series was very popular in the 1990s.

SMP 11-16 - Not the original SMP modern mathematics books with the punched tape on the cover but the series of books with pictures on the cover and a confusing colour code system.

[Arran]

Re: Trying to remember schoolbooks from the 80s

Can anybody name any primary school science book series from the 1980s? Did many primary schools even teach science in the 1980s before the National Curriculum?

https://forums.doyouremember.co.uk/t...e-in-the-1980s

[Richard1978]

Re: Trying to remember schoolbooks from the 80s

I remember using the Ginn reading books, my sister also used them in the 1990s.

Fletcher Maths books were common at primary schools, but mine got some new ones in the late 1980s.

At secondary school we had the Action France range of French text books, amusingly these were produced 10 years before I started secondary school, so the turn of the 1980s fashions in many pictures were good for a laugh or 2!

[Arran]

Re: Trying to remember schoolbooks from the 80s

Ginn Reading 360 was a massive range of books for kids from reception class to year 6. Most primary schools used them in the 1980s and they still had a set at my primary school in the 1990s.

Peak Mathematics was a popular primary mathematics book of the 1980s before the National Curriculum.

Britain since 1700 by R.J. Cootes was a classic secondary school history book of the 1980s and 90s that's still quite highly regarded today.

Deutsch Heute (with Franzi the pig) was one of the most popular German books in the 1980s and it's still around today.