"Bunking off" school as a child.

I detested going to school so I bunked off regularly from the age of 11 until I left at 16. I loved learning but unfortunately there were a lot of bullies at my school, so I bunked off to get away from them. In my defense I frequently bunked off so that I could go to the library where I could sit and read in peace.

Thank you Blondiescot.

PS: We used to call it 'playing hooky'

No. I was just done with school at 16, married the next week. My husband finished school at 16. Worked/saved 2 years until we married.

Never ever at school. My mother’s wrath terrified me. At college quite often as we did not have to sign in. I remember going to the cinema one afternoon with a boyfriend. We went back to college afterwards to pick up our books etc. A tutor saw us and asked where we had been. When we told him he said “ You really shouldn’t have done that.” Nothing more and no consequences .

Yes quite often from around 4th year ( age 14/15 )
Hated school.
Don’t remember ever getting caught, but the thought of it was part of the fun ( I think? )

Four of us decided to bunk off domestic science as it was easy to go home for lunch and not go back. The teacher noticed of course. She reported us to the headmaster and we were sent to him. Caning was the punishment in those days. He asked each one why we weren't in school. I said I'd gone home for lunch and felt sick. The rest all copied me. He said if we brought in a note from our mothers he would believe us! My mum wrote me a note. I dont know what happened to the others. I never did it again.

Kate1949

Sorry Grannywn. Apparently it was because I showed him up by bringing the school board man to the door.

I think the School Board man was held in high esteem ours was like something out of Dickens and his name didn't help Barker and he did even when walking home he would tell you to get a move on.
As a family, we always felt we had made a lucky escape as he had been my gran's boyfriend before she married my lovely soft hearted grandad.
I'm sorry about your dad's response no excuse for beating a child, but they did have a lot of respect for these people you have to wonder why?
I once nearly got the same when a policeman arrived at the door my mother showed me her hand. He was giving me an unclaimed five-pound note I had found on the street and handed in, so I got off that time.

I’m shocked by the mentions of corporal punishment, both at home and at school. Unknown for girls in my world , brother’s school did cane boys but my brother avoided it, being quite well behaved. My parents would never have hit either of us. I’m 83, by the way, my brother four years older.

I bunked off school many times from age 12 onwards as I hated it really. Sometimes with a friend and sometimes on my own. All you needed to do was go to registration and then nobody noticed. Only got caught one time.

Shel69

Yes, there was a radio show called The Joe Loss show ,a lunch time radio show that broadcast from the theatre round the corfrom where Ilived, they always had the latest groups play their hit song,
My friend and myself got tickets regularly so we bunked off to see the latest groups playing, Who,Small faces,Manfield Mann and loads more, we had autographs and pics taken now all lost, we were 13 but looked much older, bit of a wild child I'm afraid, also in the band singing was Ross mcmanus ,can't remember who got the tickers for us but no regrets enjoyed my youth

I remember Joe Loss and his orchestra - my DB and SIL were dancers and I remember going to Trentham Gardens with them when Joe Loss was there.
But at night-time, not bunking off school 😀

No! I never bunked off. I was far to scared of any repercussions if I did.

Yammy. My father didn't have respect for the School Board man or anyone else. He was violent and abusive and felt that I'd humiliated him.

Marydoll

When I was in sixth year we went into town on a free period.
Someone had seen us and phoned the school, not because we weren't in school, but because we weren't wearing our hats!

What possesses people to do that? How can it possibly matter to them whether you were wearing a hat or not?

I can't for the life of me understand the mentality of people who have so little in their own lives that they have to make a negative impact on other people's.

Yes, you could get an order mark if you were seen eating in the street in school uniform, even just an apple!

Callistemon21

Yes, you could get an order mark if you were seen eating in the street in school uniform, even just an apple!

Can you imagine picking up the phone to report someone for eating an apple? That thought process just doesn't make contact with my brain . It's like something an alien might do. What do people get out of it?

Callistemon21

Yes, you could get an order mark if you were seen eating in the street in school uniform, even just an apple!

Our uniforms were navy, even an apple would show in hands - I never wanted to disappoint my parents, no eating in uniform.

We had school straw hats after Easter, mum wanted us tidy - oh my.

Schools were surrounded by people who considered themselves 'friends' of the school and had nothing better to do than ring the school to report every trivial breach of school rules. This was es[ecially so with convent schools.

'Friends' of the school rang in reporting gir;s not wearing gloves, hats, indoor shoes outside, talking to boys. It was endless. Far too many people with too much time on their hands.

How true Monica! I went to a convent school.

Doodledog and others, yes.
Taking hats off was 😱 and reported at my school too. Also "gangs of girls larking about at the bus stop" "chatting loudly" "behaving in an unladylike manner in town, in the park or whatever" "wearing too short skirts" "without ties and with collar undone"... anything really.

Norah I think that was my school too!

Oh, I'm not disputing that it happened. I just can't understand that mentality at all. I felt the same about people reporting others for having what they considered to be 'non-essential' items in their supermarket baskets during Covid.

Life's hard enough sometimes without trying to make things worse for one another, surely?

Calendargirl

No, would never have thought of doing it.

I think it would have been picked up at our school. If you registered in the morning, but didn’t turn up for an afternoon’s class, the teacher would have queried it and someone would have said “Well, Calendar was here this morning”.

Did those of you who bunked off carried on doing this in your working life, throwing ‘sickies’ at every touch and turn?

Nope. The reverse. I've been a workaholic all my adult life.

I even worked through cancer surgery and treatment, other than when I was too sick to.

Don't make offensive assumptions. Teenagers are frequently rebellious. It's a phase.

Where I live is near to schools with a lot of Moslem children and when they get to a certain age (1bout 14/15) the parents dont like the sexes to mix. They used to gather in groups in between the houses - not really doing any harm. They smoke, drink coke and eat crisps. They are there for about 15 minutes after school. Not being a Moslem parent I have no skin in the game except that they do leave a bit of rubbish. Im surprised they havn't noticed my ring type doorbell camera which collects (but does not save) some very good pictures of them. I suppose in a way they are "playing hookey" from their parents. I have better things to do than report them or send mug shots to the school.

I believe thats more an American expression. We always called it bunking or skiving off. The school called it truanting.

My friends and I bunked off school as The Beatles were appearing in our nearest city and we wanted to meet them. We asked the venue manager where they were staying. He gave us the name of the hotel (obviously not true) and we went there and hung around. Of course we never saw them. It never occurred to us that we could have been reported as we were wearing school uniform.