What is the most random school memory you have?

This reminds me of the time I was hit with a ruler for the wrong sum but actually the answer book was misprinted and I have logged off maths ever since.

Being whacked on the palm of my hand for eating a toffee in class when I was about 7 or 8. It hurt a lot.

With a ruler, I should have added.

This is not a school memory but I remember a GP telling me that they had a theory that Dupuytren's Contractures in later life were exacerbated, or even caused, by having been hit repeatedly on the palm of the hand at school. This would account for the fact that Dupuytrens is more commonly found in men, as boys tended to be hit more often than girls.

In my final year of primary school our teacher (male) decided we should wear t-shirt and our navy blue pants for PE. One girl refused point blank to do so. We were all shocked - in those days we didn't disobey teachers. Years later it occurred to me that she could very well have started her periods.

Sneaking into the art cupboard when teacher left the room, smearing copydex glue all over the palms of our hands then competing to try to peel it off in one piece. Strangely satisfying 😁

Such horrific stories of child cruelty, but the Nuns were something else, my late husband who was brought up Catholic told me dreadful things.

I remember a maths test in year 5 primary. I sat next to my cousin, Sheila, and we both got the same answers. Mr Hibbs kept us in at playtime to do the test again seated at opposite sides of the room. I got the same answers, Sheila didn’t. I also got kept in one playtime because I couldn’t get the hang of the five times table! Maths was never my strong point.

Being bullied

In Infant 2 so I would have been about 6, I won a school competition for story writing. I was so excited that I was still talking after we put our chairs up on the table. Our teacher, Miss Rain, an old spinster complete with twin set and pearls, dragged me to the front of the classroom and hit me across my hand with a ruler! I was absolutely devastated, I was a very well behaved child and had never been in any trouble before. It definitely left a mark on me but I never spoke out of turn again! So glad that this type of punishment is no longer acceptable.

Being lashed 6 times with a leather strap by a sadistic teacher because I had forgotten my school dinner ticket. There were 4 of us lined up and thrashed on the hands by this psycho. This was in Scotland in the 60’s when being thrashed with a leather belt was commonplace.

1)
First school year, I took a snack in every day and every day it went missing. Teacher said to bring it in from cloakroom and keep it on my desk. It still disappeared by playtime but so had only one little girl who was found sitting hiding eating it in the playground.
2) don’t remember what school year but biology teacher asked all of us to draw the human heart. Whole classroom of kids were aghast and complaining that we didn’t have a clue as to how to begin as we’d never been shown anything about it. One by one we were all doing the same and drawing a ❤️ love heart.
Then we were all laughing out loud almost hysterically and poor teacher lost it ran crying from the classroom.
3) Headteacher doing his classroom rounds giving his views on life decided to single me out for humiliation. I was pretty strong minded so picked up my books and satchel ( we had them in those days) walked out and headed home. I remained out of school for several weeks.

When I was about 9 or 10 tears old I used to suffer from random nosebleeds with no apparent cause e.g. sports knocks .They just started as I sat at my desk in class.
Our lovely form teacher at the time, who was a man, walked over to me , asked me to lean forward(we had modest open-neck blouses for uniform) and dropped his car keys(which were cold)down my back. I sat for a few minutes and the bleed stopped. I was in full view of the class the whole time . No question of Monkey Business. I mused that the poor bloke, who had helped me, with the minimum of fuss and the maximum of efficacy , would probably be accused of assault or worse and causing me trauma these days.
The nose bleeds eventually stopped of their own accord and I had no trouble with my nose for the rest of my life.

Perhaps those who were whacked, hit and strapped in school should demand a retrospective apology from the Secretary of State For Education!

There was a boy in primary school who used to go round the playground during break asking everyone with an apple if he could have the core when they had finished. We called him "Runtie".

Winning the three legged race by miles!!

When the entire class got the belt on the hand as we’d all copied our maths answers.

Being made to sit through an afternoon with a broken arm as the teacher didn't believe me that it hurt so much. Mind you my Mum didn't believe me either , only because my dad have food poisoning that the doctor was there that it got looked at.

Telling the headmaster I didn't like him on my 1st day. being elbowed in the solar plexus and fighting for breath, a boy at primary school getting the cane for showing the girls his "bits", being made to go around with mint sauce for everyone in a jug and being told off for using too much and returning to a cold dinner in my seat, I could go on, but I loved the school dinners at primary school and still pine for a savoury mince dish they gave us!

When I was 6 a lady teacher used to sellotape my worksheet across my back before I went out at playtime. As I was left handed and my writing started to go down the page when I wrote a line in a story. Also taped my mouth on occasion.

For a year at secondary school we had no maths teacher. We could see him in another building reading his paper. I don't know if he didn't realise he had a class but we weren't going to tell him. Our teacher the next year had us coming in on Saturday mornings to catch up but the school never admitted a mistake.

Being pulled out to front of class for sneezing. I do sneeze loudly. I was about 10. He was going to give me the belt for sneezing. First time I stood up for myself! I did not get the belt then or any other time I sneezed in class. Maybe that is why one of my bosses said I was feisty! I’m still feisty at 68.

Suddenly being attacked by the school bully and being taken to a local hospital by the RE teacher because my head was smacked on the floor.
I remember being lectured all the way there about how undignified it was for girls to fight like that, I told her several times that I had been attacked and made no efforts to defend myself, but she never listened, and my parents told me that they were embarrassed by my behaviour.
I went off school pretty soon after that, and stopped trying to explain things. I just kept quiet.

A senior schoold fire-drill mid December in cold, frosty weather.

We were in the gym clad only in our aertex gym t-shirts, knee length stockings, gymshoes, underpants and regulation dark green top pants when the fire alarm went.

Rules stated we had to exit by nearest door, and no exceptions to the rule of only going out in what you actually had on were made for those having gym lessons!

Unfortuantely, we made exemplary time out into the playground, but the rest of the school DID NOT. We stood shivering with cold for over five minutes before the headmistress sent the entire school back indoors, saying that the alarm would be sounded again immediately. Our gym mistress allowed us to grab our cardies from the anteroom to the gym on the way indoors, but not to go and fetch our coats, which were hanging up in a cloakroom on the opposite side of the building. Nor would she allow us to at tempt to at least get our skirts on before that alarm went off again.

Gosh, so many of you had such a traumatic time. I didn’t like some of my teachers but they never frightened me.
I remember two occasions when I felt ‘wronged’, I couldn’t understand a set of physics calculations and was struggling with my homework. Dad showed me a different way of doing it which seemed much more sensible.
I got all the answers correct and yes I did show how I got there.
I got 0 out of 10. I switched off from physics from that moment.
You haven’t got time to read my tale of woe re. My French teacher Mrs. M, needless to say I blame her totally for the fact I failed Olevel French.