Burnley Grammar School

James
Am I right in assuming thst you were not bare chested outside for football/cricket etc? So there were probably days when you were playing football wearing shirts which were warmer than days when you were doing cross country or PE shirtless.

When you did cross country, were you running through fields etc. or were you running through streets where you could be seen by the general public? If so, this must have been embarrasing for some boys, especially if they were likely to be seen by people they knew.

In reply to Stuart, there was a boy in my class who often preferred to do PE barefoot, even though the official kit included white socks and plimsolls/trainers. Shorts also had to be white, any boy who turned up with the wrong colour shorts had to take them off and borrow a pair from lost property (which might or might not fit!). There was also a punishment for not bringing the correct kit, often detention or sometimes just extra push-ups or sit-ups.
Officially we were permitted to wear a PE vest for cross country, in practice most boys turned up barechested and those who did bring a vest were almost always instructed to remove it anyway.

Like at your school we did indoor pe in just wwhite shorts. Boys who forgot their kit were expected to do pe in underpants. For pe outside boys were allowed pumps but most boys didnt bring them since most of the time they werent needed. In the 4th and 5th yyearsthe rules were less strictly applied especially if pe in the morning was followed by games in the afternoon. But bare tops were normal. Communal showers were obligatory for most classes though older boys might get out of them if the teacher didnt supervise closely. Ad for group pe photos - I might have been a bit shy but would I know have had to do as we were told. Were you in a team or class photo in your kit

peterc

Yes, late seventies. Some rules were strictly enforced. We were never ever allowed a top, even it might have been chilly. Always bare chests. Other rules, like the colour of shorts might have been interpreted more leniently by some teachers, not all though. Barefoot outdoors, I cannot recall that happening, at least not to me. What were the rules at your school? And why would you have been bothered by a photo in PE kit?

James
Did you attend in the 1970s? I was at school with similar rules at that time thought I think they may not have been quite as strict. At fifth year (Year 11 now) rules were often more relaxed over bare tops esp. when it was cold. But I remember a very chilly morning going outside barechested and taking off my shoes on the playing field to play soccer in barefeet. Were rules always rigidly enforced for boys at your school? And how unusual was it for boys to do pe barefoot outside? Whatever Im not sure id have been keen to be in a group photo like that for lots of parents to see!

Bob wouldn't opening the zip reveal your chest and 2 nipples for the world to see?

You are right Stuart, correct kit was white shorts and white socks for cross country and athletics. To some degree sanctions depended on the teachers, some made you take the lesson barefoot, others put you down for punishment PE and others again would just ignore it. Ont thing they all agreed on was that boys would not wear shirts for any kind of physical activity.

Although PE was done bare chested, for outdoor sports we wore zipper shirts, white polo shirts with a six inch metal zip at the neck. The rule was that they had to be zipped up when walking round the building, but fully open when playing sports or running. After lining up outside for inspection, the PE teacher would say "open your zips" before we ran off. I hated my zip fully open in the street, but that was the rule.

James

Interesting that although most boys have white shorts, socks etc, a few are wearing blue shorts - were boys ever punished for incorrect kit - we would have been !

One of my classmates always ran in just his shorts, so with bare feet as well as stripped to the waist - the bare feet were his choice - I wonder if anyone else had classmates who skipped items of kit even though they were allowed to wear plimsolls etc ?

Yes, indoor and outdoor PE, cross country and athletics, always shirtless, barefoot too for indoors.
No one ever dared to complain, for fear of being seen as a whimp and the punishment that would have been distributed by the teacher if you did.

We certainly did xc competitions stripped to the waist and barefoot. This was in the 60's.

Hi James! So athletic practices and competitions were compulsory shirtless in your school back then? I guess because none of the boys have any shirt on at the picture.

To Simon.
Was this a private school?

Jack, there wasn't any physical contact involved during swimming but an episode when I was held under water, the teacher blew her whistle and we had to get out of the pool and we both had our buttocks strapped.
I thought it was unfair as I wasn't at fault.

Simon, when you say that the two female instructors were strict, was there any physical or other punishments given out by them during these swimming classes?
Also being instructors was there any physical contact with the boys during instructions?

My secondary school!

http://www.image-archive.org.uk/wp-content/MAX/2011_04/Rosecroft-Athletics-Team-1973s.jpg

We never did swimming naked but the trunks we wore were the briefest of speedos.

Jack. I found it particularly daunting and intimidating because we had to swim in front of two female instructors without wearing our swimming trunks. They were strict and we did as we were told without question.
We were divided into three groups and one teacher took a group of about ten boys up to age thirteen. When our ability improved we moved up to the next group.
I enjoyed swimming but would have preferred to wear trunks.

Simon, can you describe what the swimming lessons or periods were like?
Like how many boys and their ages in each class, the procedure of what they consisted of, if free swims or actual lessons.
What was the role of the two female instructors? Why was it daunting, were they strict instead of friendly?

I would hardly describe naked swimming as a' liberating experience'.
I was very apprehensive and found it rather daunting, especially as we had two female instructors.

Thinking back to nude swimming, in less inhibited days it was common for boys and men to swim naked and I suspect that this was just a historical 'leftover' - no more, no less.

People who I know who regularly swim naked say it is a most liberating sensation.

Like Stuart we always did PE and xc stripped to the waist but we were also always barefoot even in mid-winter.
Nobody complained but if anyone did he would probably have been caned and then ended up still doing it stripped to the waist and barefoot.

In late 60's we always ran xc shirtless, like the lads in the photo. No socks allowed either. A few boys always ran in nothing but shorts, thus with bare feet as well as stripped to the waist, even in the middle of winter.

I was part of the school team, and we always wore vests for competitions. Some of the boys in the photos are wearing socks, which we weren't ever allowed to do. One of my classmates, also in the team, always ran bare foot.

I also notice that a couple of the boys are wearing rugby shorts, which would have been a flogging offence for us !! Being serious, if we had worn rugby shorts for xc we would have been in serious trouble, and would almost certainly have been caned.

Bill, in response to your further questions. The school that I attended was an independent Public school, with an attached Preparatory school,taking both day and boarding pupils, ages ranging from 7-18. The pool was indoors, and swimming sessions were supervised in individual class age groups, maybe 15 or so boys, and, as in my case, separate coaching for those observed as unable to swim at the time. After a game of Cricket,when both teams would go for a swim, there were more, of course. If there was a competition with another school, a rare event in the 1950's,when and if the visiting team wore trunks, the home team would do likewise, but other schools would often swim as we were required to do. House swim competitions would be strictly nude. There were never any events in my recollection with spectators, since the pool area would accommodate few people. All these activities became a routine part of everyday life.

Edward, I presume you are talking about a secondary school, that is from about age 11 to 17.
Was it an outdoor or indoor pool?
What were the swim lessons like, that is if it was in different age groups or all ages together, how many boys in each class, were they free swim lessons or instruction techniques, etc.
Also some posters here and elsewhere mention that they competed nude or during swim galas in front of mixed spectators or parents. Was this also in your case or were you made to wear swimsuits in such cases?

Bill, No reason for nude swimming was ever given,and no boy had the temerity to question the rule.It was an authoritative principle,such as school uniform,to which everyone had to conform,like it or not.It applied to all age groups.

Edward, what were the reasons given for making the boys swim nude at your school?
Was this for all ages, or up to a certain age?

Dave, that bought back memories. I regularly ran in school cross country competitions barechested from when i broke into the team aged 12 until I turned 18
Being part of the team meant you had the joys of an extra fitness session (once a week, instead of the craft lesson) or a timed training run, all barechested of course, to prove you could do it come race day. All this came on top of the standard PE/Games lessons for which were always done with half in vests vs half in skins. It also meant the teacher had absolute freedom to decide who stripped off. Needless to say if you were on any sports team you would also exercise stripped too.

In response to Bill, and following my post earlier this year, nude swimming was the unquestionable rule at the all male school that I attended in the late 1950's. Unwillingly I participated naked, as all boys were required to do. Initially apprehensive, I ultimately became less inhibited, oblivious to personal nudity, enjoying the freedom of swimming without trunks.

We certainly did cross-country stripped to the waist in 1963(this was the harsh winter of 1962/63)and nobody complained. It would have made no difference if we did.
Seemingly youths were tougher then!