Burnley Grammar School

In some russian schools boys are still shirtess for physical exercises. You can watch for example a co-ed morning run here Boys have to be barechested.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T9SKh5NDUTE

John, how old were you and the other boys at the time? Did you find it embarrassing or just normal?
I don't think this was very unusual for boys up to a certain age for female teachers to supervise in changing rooms and showers.
Not long ago I saw an article stating a school's rules about supervision during swimming lessons. It said that teachers must be present to supervise during changing and showering. It stated clearly that both male and female teachers can supervise in the boys room, but only female teachers in the girls changing room.
Talk about double standards. It even stated that the pupils must take a shower before entering the pool under teachers supervision.

We had communal showers at school and they were supervised by our male PE teacher. He was also a housemaster and sometimes was called away if there was an emergency. The girls PE teacher would stand in for him. She was a well built fearsome lady. If she caught us running straight through the shower, she did as our usual teacher did, and gave us a whack on the bottom with s green flash. This was in the 70s.

We often had boys only team events and had to use the girls' changing area and facilities which included a separate cubicle for the teacher. We had to use communal showers and changing area and was supervised by the lady teacher in charge.

Anyone had teachers of the opposite sex supervising showers or changing rooms?

No, it never bothered me because no one talked or looked at each other while in the showers as everyone was quite inhibited, so it wasn't that daunting,

Brendan, it is interesting to learn about the more up to date situations re school PE. Times have obviously changed because back in the mid 60's when I was a pupil in an all boys after the lesson the teacher would be present in the changing rooms and around the showers to make sure there was no fooling around. I know that these days that would not be allowed, but we never worried that a teacher was present.

Also it seems from comments from earlier contibutors, that
it is thought that lads are more inhibited about taking communal showers or even changing in one room. Did that ever bother you?

hi wren, there were only five showers available. Usually, after pe finished, we would go to the changing room, take off our kit and wait in line. However, showers were literally less than a minute long so we'd never have to wait more than a few minutes. Although the showers were compulsory, there was never a punishment for not having a shower as teachers are not allowed into the changing and shower rooms (for obvious reasons) so they could not see who showered and who didn't.

brendan what were your showers like? What was the punishment for not showering?

Dave: Our pe kit was shorts, tshirt, shoes and towel for showers. Feel free to ask any questions

Hi Brendan!

What was your PE kit at school indoors and outdoors?

Yep my school still does compulsory showers I only left it last year. There is a shower room where everyone showers. After you finish pe you go to the nearby shower room to have a quick (literally one minute) shower before changing back into schoo clothes. Boys school by th e way

Are there schools which still require group showers after PE?

Regarding n's comments about today's PE, I have looked at the Syllabus and am Inclined to agree although I also think that there is much too much Theory and not enough general Physical Education. I think the main thrust of PE should be actual Practicalities of Keeping Kids Fit and not Team games; These should be offered as Extra to Basic PE (which, by the way, believe should be once again Gender-Specific). I also think Staff should be much more active in promoting Individual Sports e.g. Triathlon or Swimming/Diving or even Climbing which can get Kids out of the "Football/Cricket/Rugby/Hockey and that's it" Mentality.
Very Interesting that just this last weekend Figures have been released showing a Massive increase in the Diagnosis in the population of T2 Diabeties, which is provenly-linked to an Inactive Lifestyle..

To: n
You asked about Today's PE.
Here is the Link to the NC PE Syllabus, in html form so you should be able to see it easily.
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-curriculum-in-england-physical-education-programmes-of-study/national-curriculum-in-england-physical-education-programmes-of-study

On the actual topic of PE. Does anyone know whether these days PE is similar to how we knew it. It seemed strnous exercise and it certainly kept you warm even in winter with no top. Admitteddly in doors.. I think I can rmemeber star jumps handsprins and of cousre what I loathed the vaulting horse upon I often barked my shins. Are htese sorts of things now anti health and safety. From what little I have gleaned it seems listening to High school children that most of PE seems glorified games sessions.

hi Spence

We had a lesson with the girls which was called Dance and movement, which was supposed to teach us how to move to music and later on some more formal dance moves. Never liked it much.
Not wearing a shirt was not really an issue for us, as it was considered part of PE and therefore it was obvious that we would wear PE kit.
Some boys might have not liked it very much, but no boy ever said anything. Anyway, he would just have been mocked, bullied told to man up or given punishment PE detention. The no-shirts rule was not an option but strictly enforced.

Back in July 1987 in year 9 lower year Pe ended in Secondary school. No more having to do gym in white shorts and white shirts or having to go topless if you had the wrong top.

No more having to shower in the dreaded walk through showers or having to turn your top inside out for rugby after the boys were divided into 2 teams.

Once you reached year 10 and 11 showers were optional which meant no-one took them. Not that the showers were any good as there was no soap or flannel and water on the floor made a muddy film that was absolutely disgusting.

After you reached the age of 15 and 16 you could choose between judo, squash, weighting training, water polo trampolining and a range of other humane sports activities. At last there was no more compulsory football, cross country and rugby.

No more humiliation by being beaten on the backside as in 1986 or forced up and down to do press ups like in 1987. I am glad the perverted PE Coaches of the past are consigned to history for good!

Hand stands....yes they could be embarrasing. I recall one poor lad who was good at hand stands having to demonstrate this activity in front of the whole class for several minutes. As he had forgotten his shorts he was doing PE in his underpants. Everything had fallen out and was on display. Several of us pointed this out to the teacher, as we stood around the red-faced boy, but he was told to carry on regardless.

James
What activities did the boys and girls do together? Were they inside or outside? How did the boys, especially the shy ones, feel about being bare chested in front of the girls?

I can remember those same exercises prompting our PE teacher to 'suggest' to a few of my classmates that it was time they asked their mums to buy them bras!

Tek, we had three PE lessons a week, two were boys only and the third lesson was with the girls during the first three of secondary school.

Your coments are true Bob. After the first couple of pe lessons in secondary school (all boys) no one worried or noticed what was showing. Especially having to support one another when we did hand stands. Then of course there were the communal showers afterwards. No one cared . Are lads relly that worried these dyas or do they have individual showers?

I found the worst time for revealing too much in PE was when in the gym, running on the spot, or doing star jumps . The shorts were small but loose fitting. We were told it did not matter as we were all boys.

James, were your classes mixed? Or were you segregated?

Nic, thank you for your reply, our shorts were also white, which of course enhanced their transparency.
They were a compulsory item of our kit and we had to wear them for all our games,gymnastics and cross country.
They were as you quite aptly describe them, as 'micro shorts' which of course left little to the imagination.

`

Yes John, I remember the thin nylon shorts. ours were white and ours were almost micro shorts. Certainly if they got wet during outdoor games or cross country, see through. However, I think we just got on with it. I do not know how boys would cope these days.

Yes, they were allowed track suits unlike us boys!

James, from the pictures of Rosecroft School on the East Cleveland Image Archive, it appears that your school was mixed. When you were doing PE bare chested outside on cold days, were there were girls nearby doing PE well wrapped up?

We were bare chested for our gym lessons and just wore our shorts without underwear and bare foot.
I was used to wearing shorts all the time, so I became accustomed to wearing them in cold weather but the games shorts that I wore were thin nylon shorts and when wearing them for games and cross country runs they became slightly translucent when wet.
Certainly, I don't recall anyone complaining to the teachers about wearing these little numbers but as they were very trim and see through I found it very embarrassing.