Burnley Grammar School

Rope climbing was something I did at school. Our PE master was very strict about it and not everyone was allowed to do it. First you had to demonstrate your ability to do forty press ups and forty pull ups without a break before he would let you climb a rope. Even then, you had to progress in stages. The ropes had coloured bands on them at about two metre intervals and you would be told you could go to a particular colour and no further while he watched. Putting so much as a hand above the colour you were allowed to climb to had a consequence which was without exception the cane, it was the only thing we ever got it from him for but he maintained that climbing ropes was a dangerous activity and you were to do as you were told at all times. He was fairly strict anyway and the slipper was in regular use but it was the cane for going too high on the ropes.

What did I get out of it, it was a huge challenge, there was a huge sense of achievement, I developed skills in coordination and lots of upper body strength, I was proud of what I’d done and wanted to do more and of course being me and always pushing the boundaries, I had to climb a bit higher and so did get the cane but only once because through my gym shorts and no more it was bad. Did I resent it? No, I deserved it and stuck to my coloured band afterwards right until I was allowed to climb to the top.

I also remember those benches with hooks on them. We used to use them in circuit training both to hook one end to the wall bars and then lift the other stretching our arms as far as they would go and also fun up them to the bars, hold and jump down and also the reverse, climb the bars and slide down the bench. We also used to do jumps from the floor on to them and over them.

Other than circuit training, the other big activities in the gym were things like vaulting, high and long jump practice in bad weather and we had thin blue mats for that, routine exercises like press ups, sit ups, burpees, star jumps and so on. Then we played pirates too, my memory of that was that one lad started out as a pirate and everyone else had to avoid him but no one was allowed to touch the floor. Once you were caught, you joined the pirates and so the balance of power changed until everyone was a pirate and the game was over and sometimes it started again immediately particularly on a wet, winter day.

I loved gym work and still do along with games, athletics and running. Rugby and gym were my favourites.

To bring back the discussion of bare skin running and cold. It wasn’t running but it was certainly bare skin. We were in Finland over Christmas and New Year and Finland among other things is the land of the sauna. The place we were staying which only had ten guest rooms so quite small but there were two saunas, one male and one female because in Finland the sauna is never mixed except perhaps in a family home – and many have one.

The men’s sauna was close to a lake and a hole had been cut in the ice so we could cool down. The sauna was, I think much hotter than any I’ve been in before, the dress code is naked and there was a sign telling you to get everything off outside. I felt like the skin on my arse was being seared it was so hot and then after a while, it’s out and jump into water with ice floating on it. The sensation was amazing and the adrenaline rush strong. You don’t stay in the water long and then it’s back in the sauna where for a few minutes you feel like you are in a freezing envelope which then melts and you feel the heat again. You basically repeat as often as you want to and I found the two sensations of baking and freezing quite addictive and at the end of it all, I felt great and my skin was so clean and soft. I’m certainly up for doing that again and for trying some bare skin outdoor exercise at home.

Finally, there wasn’t really any pre-Christmas discussion about the age of children. One or two misguided people were trying to insist that those under the age of majority which is legally eighteen were adults. Others, thankfully, recognised and respected the law of the land. Under eighteens are not adults and indeed; I regard trying to force a child who is under eighteen to take on the role and/or responsibilities of an adult as abuse. All will adopt the responsibilities of adult life in due course but the law is there for a reason.

Littler, the darts player is a child regardless of his level of talent no matter who likes it nor not. What I do find unhealthy here is a poster ogling school children on their way to a bus stop and noting their physical characteristics, possibly for an unsavoury purpose and then posting about it. IP tracking, in particular the more comprehensive version I can now see makes him easily identifiable if he keeps this up.

Returning to our pre-Xmas discussion about ´children´ of 16-18. At the lower end of that scale have you seen darts player Luke Littler. He is 16. Would you regard him as a ´child´?:-

https://duckduckgo.com/?q=Luke+Littler+photo&iax=images&ia=images&iai=https%3A%2F%2Fe1.365dm.com%2F24%2F01%2F1600x900%2Fskysports-luke-littler-darts_6409467.jpg

I often see 16-18 yer old lads in school uniforms with beards and moustaches (they have to pass my premises to get to the bus stop nearby)., and mature looking girls. There needs to be a rethink on how they are treated - the shadow Education Minister seems to think they need to be kept in place with the use of A.I. (Big Sister is watching you), but it begs the question as there now seems to be so much wholesale ´truancy´, especially amongst older pupils, why school is so unwelcoming to so many young men and women.

We had these benches in both primary and senior school. They were manufactured by a company called ‘Hunts’ of Liverpool.
In primary school they would be hooked up to a tall rectangular tower so you could run up them and then jump off.
I was in Primary school from 1970 - 1977 and Senior school 1977 to 1984.
The Health and Safety at Work Act did not come into being until 1974 and as children are not regarded as employees but rather long term
Visitors to a school there was no thought about our health & safety. The concept of risk assessments did not appear until the very late 1990’s so it is unlikely that anyone thought about the likelihood of us being harmed doing P.E.

They did Drew, I'd forgotten that. But we never used them that way.

We had those benches too. Apart from the uses already mentioned, hey had hooks on the end so that one end could be hooked onto the wallbars. We then had to lift the other end of the bench and then lower it again, often as part of a circuit training routine.

Thanks Bernard, the rules of Pirates you mentioned brought it all back to me. I think a game of tag was incorporated, with one team ‘in’ and the others trying to tag the others as they moved quickly from apparatus to apparatus. I certainly remember the not being allowed to touch the floor bit now. I think you would either be ‘out’ or had to quickly run to another apparatus to be ’safe,’ depending on which version we were doing. I seem to remember that if we had to finish more speedily due to the lesson coming to an end, those caught would then join the team trying to catch the others. Our gym teacher would tell them to rejoin, from sitting and waiting along the side of the gym, which always caused a bit of final panic for those trying not to be caught.

Usually, those caught would wait for the changeover while sitting on those long wooden benches, a few of which were always positioned along the walls of the gym. Anyone remember those? They would often be used as an apparatus to run along, or could be turned upside down, which would then produce a long wooden beam to balance along, obviously built into their design as optional use. Again though, quite good at enabling you to twist your ankle if your foot slipped off, especially while rushing about, and fell within the upturned seating bit. Health and safety didn’t seem to exist back then, and a little expected risk just seemed to be part of learning, and a part of life.

It was all just organised playing really, certainly as far as we were concerned, and a release from academic work sitting at a desk. We’d all be running about, climbing, jumping, balancing etc. All great fun while gaining beneficial exercise, and a lovely memory.

Another difference between then and now is that we never had the really thick landing mats for high jump and pole vault, but had to land in a sand pit.
Of course we used the old 'straddle jump' technique for the high jump and only a few 6th form pupils ever did the pole vault.

I don't know if they still have ropes, though H&S would be more about supervision than taking them away. I wouldn't be surprised if richer schools (private?) had proper climbing walls!

I wonder if they still have those ropes these days?. In this age of Health & Safety I would be a bit surprised if they did.

Ah - the Climbing Ropes! We had a few boys who could get to the top with ease but most of us, as far as I can remember, seemed to struggle and did not enjoy the experience.

Pirates - the object was to avoid touching the floor or being touched by the boy who was "it" or, presumably, by any-one else who had been caught. I can't remember how we knew who was "it" or who had been caught - we couldn't have taken anything off as we only wore shorts, unless we all started with a coloured band normally worn to distinguish teams and abandoned them as we were caught. It's a long time ago so I can't really remember.

Mats - I remeber we had two types. One was thinner, smellier and rubbery - seems like the ones Greg mentioned. The other type were much heavier and made of coir - much exercise was involved in moving the things to where they were needed and putting them away again!

Yes, we had those mats behind the vaulting box for landing on too. I don't recall them being placed below the climbing bars or ropes though. I could never get the hang of climbing the ropes either (not enough arm strength!).

We used to have 'Pirates' occasionally, mainly as a treat at the end of term.

Toby, Sorry, I should have mentioned it was you who discussed mats and ropes, but didn’t check back and just remembered it.

Your achievement of getting about a foot off the ground with the ropes sounds a bit like you just holding on for a bit, and then letting go again. Perhaps you pulled yourself up a little but could go no further. I can understand this, especially when we were younger, as I think it is difficult at the earlier ages to pull up your own body weight when so young. I remember struggling too, so perhaps managed a metre or two before I went off the idea of defying gravity any more. I remember developing the gripping with your legs and feet technique as being important.

I always had the idea that swinging on the ropes like Tarzan would have been fun, but that certainly would have started our gym teacher growling.

Greg2

Those were the mats I was thinking of! I think ours were either green or blue.

We didn't do Pirates, I don't think. I never made it more than afoot off the floor on the ropes, but I always got good marks for effort!

Well, Happy New Year everyone.

All quiet on the gymnast front.
Where have all the flowers gone?

Mats have been mentioned. We had green mats that had a sort of meshed black rubber backing, with a green smoother front, perhaps an inch thick. They seemed to be used mostly for landing on after jumping over the wooden horse and then rolling over etc. I don’t ever remember them being placed beneath ropes, which I always hated climbing up as it was so difficult on the arms to get high, and then you still had to get down again.

I remember it being a treat if we were ever allowed to play, ‘Pirates’. It only seemed to happen if we found our Gym teacher was in a good mood, when he would mention it as we went in and we would all cheer, as it was always fun. It seemed to require getting out all the equipment to almost fill the gym, and it seemed to involve a circuit as we all went from one apparatus to another. I can’t remember the principle behind it all, though I’m sure we were divided into two teams and there seemed to be a resulting score somehow achieved with one side winning. Can anyone remember how it went? Perhaps it varied from school to school.

A certain madness seemed to reign leading up to Christmas which was a pity. Perhaps some of the intriguing characters will not return; though it will be interesting to see how the partial ip address appearance affects certain poster’s posts…

Happy new year.

For those interested in the "Royal Liberty" case, I attach, without comment, the latest update:

https://www.romfordrecorder.co.uk/news/23997099.ex-pupil-speaks-royal-liberty-paedophile-teacher-case/

I haven't posted recently because I hadn't much to say and because it's Christmas. It's interesting to read other people's stories. My best wishes for the new year to you all, and to Brian.

I wondered if it was the IP address thing, maybe a lot of people were multiple posters?

It could just be Christmas?

Though if this forum gets back to history talk and all aspects of gym, not just clothing, that's no bad thing.

Too true, Claire. I have been wondering what has happened to "Gerald Baxter"

Ooh! Hasn't it all gone quiet? Where have all the one-time posters gone? Brian has frightened them all away.

Comment by: Chris G on 25th December 2023 at 18:34


An interestig point - in these days of intense Health & Safety, I wonder if they still have rope climbing as art of the main syllabus?. It always seemed even 40+ years ago an especially pointless activity?

We had ropes in both of my secondary school gyms, but I don't remember mats ever being used under them.

Comment by: Michael on 25th December 2023 at 03:30


I think those old coir mats were quite harsh, so I should imagine you could get a graze if you fell on one of them. We had those rubber things and they were not great but less painful, I would imagine. I was lucky and never fell from a rope, though I know one or two lads who did. I should imagine these days, due to health and safety, ifn they are still used, they would have to have adequate floor protection.

At the beginning of a gym session at my old school, one brave boy dared to enquire of the brutish teacher, if he could place coir mats underneath the ropes, in case someone should lose their grip and fall. The thick coconut matting would then reduce their impact and hence any injury.

I was not surprised by the hard-hearted reply, which was that no mats should be placed under the ropes, as the prospect of a hard landing would make it less likely that anyone would let go of the rope in the first place.

I wondered if there was there some kind of fiendish logic to this response; as in all my years at that school, I never fell from the ropes, nor did I ever hear of anyone else doing so.

There must be something in the water in Essex. At the risk of being deemed "too negative", yet another, especially repulsive case of abuse , this time, involving a music teacher, albeit a "private" one:

https://www.romfordrecorder.co.uk/news/24001966.hornchurch-choirmaster-guilty-sexually-abusing-children/

We are forever assured that every effort is made to weed out this sort of individual, we have expensive computer systems, and an apparently extra vigilant police service, yet cases of this sort constantly gets through the net.

The boys in this case are well below an age when they should know about matters of this sort, yet they are let down. Heaven knows the long terms effects this will have on them.

These days you couldn't even get a job as a shelf-stacker in a supermarket without stringent checks, so just how do individuals like this escape attention - until it is too late?

Comment by: Brian (Site owner) on 19th December 2023 at 19:10


I - and I am sure all the genuine posters on this site - are very grateful that you will be adding the details you envisage, to put to bed for once and for all the suggestions I am at least six other posters. I have got tired of denying it.

Comment by: Rob on 19th December 2023 at 19:08

Rob, Though one tried to keep one's feelings under control, I m sure I probably gave away to fellow pupils that I was uncomfortable. I was very small and very skinny for my age, so of course, I got comments, which I found as awkward as the way the lessons were conducted. . I found it a complete trial, as did at least one other pupil who had a very noticeable scar all the way from his chest down to his navel. I understood his embarrassment and I am sure there must still be pupils who feel uncomfortable in these circumstances today.

The reason I asked the question of Nathan today was because I am genuinely interested as to why some lessons are taken covered up and others not, as I assume they take place in the same building, and I assume using basically the same programmes. There was no ulterior motive in the question, I am genuinely interested in the reasoning.

I don't usually get involved with comments but I'll leave a quick message to clarify a few things...

Firstly, this is not a forum nor is it a message board.
I coded the site to be a simple site without the need to register.

Any photo or old ad are open to comments.
These are checked before being added or deleted.

In the near future I will display the last two parts of the IP address of each person that has left a comment. This will still allow anonymity but hopefully deter prolific posters using different names.
The "partial IPs" will be displayed from all future posts (when I implement soon), not historic ones.

Alan you're a classic overthinker aren't you. I don't think you'll find it's anything like the problem you think it is for the majority at school, then or now. Just what was the extent of your won shirtless PE in school then and did you make it obvious to those around you at the time how much you disliked it?

A bit more common sense and respect for each other I hope and a lot more honesty, and if you wish to make claims at least add something a little bit more to back it up for a bit of credibility.

Brian is the moderator/owner/administrator of this website and I'd appreciate some clear advice and comments from you regarding your site please, going forward. It's not too much to ask is it.

Comment by: Nathan Hind on 16th December 2023 at 12:54

Nathan, now that the forum is back to something approaching normal, I'd be interested to have your response to part of your message. This piece:


"This contrasts completely with doing PE indoors where I have autonomy to choose that option and on occasions some of the PE class or the whole class do some PE in a shirtless capacity largely without any incidents about it."

May I ask if you implement this in winter, and when you do it, is it just for younger pupils or older ones as well. I would also be interested to know why you implement it - just on very warm days, or for what reason. You say "largely without any concerns" which suggests there are some.

I would have thought it would be more difficult to implement when it is not a normal day to day happening, so the lads can't be expecting it. Is it a form of punishment?.

No ulterior motive in the questions, I assure you. I am just interested to understand the reasoning behind it.