Burnley Grammar School

In our gym sessions at Grammar School (1963-68) we didn't wear supports but some of us used to put our Swimming Trunks on underneath our Shorts instead if we needed to.
We also used to do Wrestling sometimes as well and if this was the case, our PE Master used to tell us in advance, so that we could start the lesson with them under our Shorts, and then slip off our shorts and just wrestle in the swim-briefs.
There were two "Houses" at the School and it was always one Boy in Green Trunks against one in Navy-Blue. We didn't use a Ring, just an exercise Mat in the Middle of the Gym Floor. Any of the Lads who weren't already in "Skins" had to take their Tee-shirt off, of course.

Hi ,if anyone would like to chat more about supporters and athletics kit please feel free to Email me I would be happy to talk further.

I was not aware that jockstraps had gone out of fashion, but the I am not athletic. Due to the fact that most lads are allowed to wear under under their shorts these days and given the fact that they all seem to wear boxers not briefs, you would think that they would need some sort of support for PE or games

Peter B
At the school that I attended during the seventies,we also had a strict'no underwear policy'which was rigorously enforced.We too would wear just our shorts with no vest or socks.No distinction was ever made by the boys'ages and like you we would wear the same brief shorts in the fifth form as the first formers would wear.
I found it far more traumatic wearing these shiny little numbers for cross country where we could be seen in public rather than other outdoor pursuits.

William
I was st school between 1968 and 1974

Arby
I totally agree that is a shame they went out of vogue

Hi , the period I started wearing a supporter was mid 70`s, maybe before that time they were not very common

I went to an an all boys school in London (1961 to 1966) The top form was the 5th form when we left in July 66 at the age of 16. We had a strict no underwear policy and no tops indoors and no socks. Athletic supports were nerve mentioned and so we went through all years with no support. In the summer when we played cricket during the games period we never knew about boxes and so did not wear them.

Having read some of the previous contributions about swimming with out trunks at least we did wear these for our lesson but of course in those days we all wore the briefs type, not the long shorts that our now worn for swimming.

The school my Ex went to (in the 1970's) was a boys grammar, not a public or boarding school. As mentioned previously it was their PE teacher who suggested they start to wear a supporter, rather than it being on the PE kit list.

When my son was about 11, he wanted to play junior cricket and a 'box' was on the compulsory kit list. That was the first time. I came across a jockstrap with a pouch - my Ex didn't play cricket.

Hi , interesting comments from both of you , I think it must have been down to school policy or the head of sports as to what underwear boys should or should not wear.
My school was a mixture of day and boarding and it was a boarder who I first watched wearing a supporter.

Strangely, like William, I can't remember anyone at my boys' grammar school in the 60s wearing jockstraps either. Could it be a demographic/cultural thing?

I went to a State High School in the 60s. Most boys by the time that we reached the 6th form wore a jockstrap for PE and games. Yes they were Litesome jockstraps. I remember two of us going to the local sports shop to buy them for the first time. We felt very grown up at the time. Afterwards it just became quite normal to wear them. The sports teaching staff encouraged us to wear them, particularly as we eventually realised that they wore them too. In my view it is a great pity that jockstraps are no longer in vogue.

Jon and Dave

I wonder exactly when you were at school. At a boys' grammar school in the '60s I never saw or heard of jock straps. We never wore anything under our shorts, not for gym, athletics, rugby or hockey. In retrospect, jock straps would have been welcome in the sixth form.

And on the thread in December, no-one tried to get round the "no pants" rule. I made the mistake of wearing pants at my first gym lesson - I was absent for the "no pants" order - and was screamed at by the master when we stripped for the showers. It made an indelible impression on me and probably on everyone else.

Dave
Yes very similar experience. I went to a public school in Hertfordshire. I was a boarder and would say that we practically all had jockstraps (athletic supporters) by the time we'd reached sixth form, whereas the day boys weren't so enthusiastic. Don't know why that was really. Perhaps boarders were more inclined to follow the lead boy for fear of being seen out of line/ fashion. I only ever geall remember there being Litesome jockstraps with or without pouches (with for sport like cricket to carry a box). Most boys had both types.

Hi Andrea and Jon , after I had seen the other boy wearing his jockstrap I wanted one so went on my own to a local sports shop and bought an athletic supporter as they were called along with a new running vest and shorts. I remember being very excited and rushed home to try them on , it did take some time and nerve to wear them at school for the first time. My games master did comment that it was good to see I was wearing proper athletic`s kit !!
Jon I went to a public school here in Somerset.

Hi Dave,
If my memory is correct, I think my Ex said their PE teacher advised all the boys to purchase a 'Litesome Supporter' when they started their 3rd year at secondary school (so aged about 13). Before that they weren't allowed anything under their shorts.

He got his dad to go with him to buy one; did you do the same or did you buy it yourself?

Dave

Like experience ... at the age of 14 we started to invest in a jockstrap once one boy had bought one. Which school were you at?

Dave

Like experience ... at the age of 14 we started to invest in a jockstrap once one boy had bought one. Which school were you at?

Hi,I have been reading the comments here and most of them ring true to my time at school. We were not allowed to wear underwear at all under our white pe shorts up to 14 when most of us started wearing tight pants or swimming trunks under the shorts for support. When I was 16 I saw a lad putting on a jockstrap before a cross country race and by that weekend I had my first litesome jockstrap, one or two of my friends also got one and the small athletic shorts which were the fashion in the late 70`s early 80`s.

The spirit of the 1959 Burnley Grammar photo is alive and well in the form of Olympian gymnast Nile Wilson.Check out his You Tube videos,Ultimate Gymnast Challenge.

I agree that single sex primary schools were rare although in secondary schools they were common both in the private and state school sectors.

Hi Ben,

Personally I didn't find it embarrassing as I was still totally flat-chested when I left primary school. Also, like many of the girls, I became adept at putting on my PE shorts before removing my skirt!
I think some of the early developers did start to feel self-conscious about their bodies, not helped some of the boys making comments. Did that happen in your school too?

Certainly in earlier years a few pupils of both sexes did PE in their vest and pants if they forgot their PE kit, but I don't recall it happening in the final year.

Andrea, did you or any of the other girls feel embarrassed stripping and changing for PE in front of the boys in class?

Also was there some sort of punishment if you forgot your PE kit, like making you do PE in just underpants which seems to have been common in some schools?

Hi Ben,

A follow up question - had any of the budding girls actually started to wear bras? If so it seems particularly harsh that they had to remove them.
As I said in my previous post, a few of my classmates did start to wear bras during our final year at primary school, but there were others who had small buds but were still wearing vests. Of course this was in the days before cami-tops etc were available as a 'half-way house' between a vest and a bra.

Hi Ben,

I left primary school in 1971. We were allowed to wear T shirts and shorts or pe skirts, but boys and girls had to change in the same classroom (supervised by our teacher).
As you say, some of the girls started to develop budding breasts during the final year at Primary and a few started to wear bras rather than vests. They were normally allowed to change separately in the toilets.

Hi Claire, at least you were all girls and presumably with all female teachers during PE.
In our case it was mixed and with both male and female teachers, depending on who your class teacher was.

I also think that it was rare to have boys only or girls only primary schools, though I coulld be wrong.
Although single sex secondary schools were not that uncommon.

Hi Ben, I attended an all girls school leaving in 1997. We were made to go "bare top" in gym until 11yo when bra's were required by many. I am pretty "flat chested" our gym teacher kept myself and a couple of other girls as skins. I was 15 before requiring a bra.

We did PE in just underpants, both boys and girls, throughout primary school till age 11. Some girls had budding breasts in the last years and some boys were also beginning to develop.
I guess most of us started to feel embarrassed being half naked or almost naked in front of the opposite sex at that age.
We all undressed down to our underpants in class under the supervision of our teacher and were taken for PE exercises.
This was in the early 60s.
I wonder if this is still permitted in any schools.

I attended a co-educational secondary school and was initially embarrassed being barechested in front of girls whilst doing mixed sex PE lessons. It would seem from quite a few posts that lads in early teens have not wanted to have to strip to the waist in the presence of girls. I wish that I had been to a single sex school where I would not have been bothered being stripped to the waist amongst other boys. There is much to be said for single sex education until the age of 16, boys can concentrate on their education without the distraction of girls.

Peter B,

Of course these days the cane is banned so it just couldn't happen but back in the 1960s a headmaster, particularly of a private school had pretty free reign where anything was concerned.

Corporal punishment was overseen by the governors but in reality that meant it was left to the headmaster's discretion unless a parent complained and as you say, a parent then would almost certainly side with the school - mine always did and had I not already had the strap at home, I would have been given it just for getting a caning at school. The governors were all retired ex-military types anyway who no doubt thought the more severe a caning the better - never done them any harm and so on.

The headmaster maintained a list of boys who he saw as rebellious and after the skinhead cut I was on it alongside a few more. It guaranteed you a bare bottom caning if you were sent to him and up to twelve strokes - which I never got though I did get eight a couple of times - surprisingly much worse than six.

I doubt any parent today would use a strap like my father had either - it was about eighteen inches long and two wide and half an inch thick, it really packed a punch and a dozen of it on my bare bottom was the norm. I suspect any father today even giving a couple with it would be arrested.

Is the situation today better? I'm not sure, I look at lads heading for school and the state of them and sometimes think that the threat of a rarely used cane might smarten them up no end.

As many have stated the Bare Chest policy was quite popular amongst many female onlookers. I attended an all boys school. The ladies who worked in the canteen certainly enjoyed extended cigarette breaks while watching the shirtless shenanigans on the pitch!