Figure 1.--This state primary school in 1960 had a football team. I'm not sure how common this was. Click on the image to see how they dressed for classes. |
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Many schools had a general gym uniform used for a wide variety of sports and athletics. this was not always the case. We notice some schools which just had to boys take off their shirts and put on plymsols. Sometimes they did not even use plymsols. Most secondary schools had a gym uniform for a variety of activities. In addition to the the gym uniform, there were also sports uniforms for rugby, football, and cricket. The private schools had elaborate sports uniforms. This was true of both the public and prparatoy schools. Part of the ethos of the public school was an emphasis on sport and even boys of limited ability were encouraged to participate. Sports were not as emphasized in state school, but we note that even state primary schools had some sports teams. We are not sure how common this was.
Drill in the 19th century and early-20th century was commonly used as part of the school program. It wasseen as useful in developng sisciplline. This was especially the case of state primary schools and appears to have become popular just as England was beginning to dvelop its state school system. And coincidentally at the sametime that Prussia was beinning its effort to unify Germany. This ould evntually lead to a military ribalry between Germany and England. And drill was seen as useful in preparing youth for potential future military service. Several educators promoted drill in the schools. A leading oromoter was Edwin Chadwick with the Society of Arts (1860s-70s). The Education Reform Act was a major step in building the state education system (1870). [McCann] One factor in the use of drill was space. Public (elite boarding) schools with spacious grounds could pursue games (sports). This ws something that state primaries or small preparatory schools did not have the grounds to do. Drill could be conducted with or without props like wooden batons, rifles, weights, or other items. It was a major part of the physical education program. Both the exercise and discipline was considered to be good for the children. Both boys and girls did drill. We see children during drill through the 1930s. We note children at the Douglas School, probably in the 1920s. Drill became less common after World War II.
In addition to the the gym there were also sports, often called games in British schools. Thus in additioin to the gym uniform, there were also sports uniforms for rugby, football, and cricket. The private schools had elaborate sports uniforms. This was true of both the public and prparatory schools. Part of the ethos of the public school was an emphasis on sport and even boys of limited ability were encouraged to participate. Sports were not as emphasized in state school, but we note that even state primary schools had some sports teams. We are not sure how common this was.
Sports are important at most English sports. This is especially true at private (independent) schools which have a long tradition of sports. In fact manyb important schools were virtually invented at British schools. Although not stuck to rigidly the three terms usually equate to the main playing seasons. Nearly all schools would have had football or similar teams from at least the post-World War II period. An English reader writes, "I know my father and his brothers played in school teams during the 1940s. I suspect such inter-school matches would date back much further, especially so re the public schools who have fought it out on the playing fields for hundreds of years." Btitish schools do not tend to have the same arenas for scholastic sports that American schools have, but there is more of a tradition of participation associated with British school sports.
A British reader writes, "We did not do much by way of callisthenics as I believe American schools did by the 1970s but I do recall lining up to do exercises in the hall and sometimes out on the playing field during PE lessons. Ideal for getting either a tan or hyperthermia."
A British reader writes, "During the late Autumn and Winter at my prep school, Hurworth House, the pool was closed. I
know of at least one school I have associations with which historically had
the boys take an early morning dip in the North Sea regardless of the time
of year but sanity had at least emerged to where we would not be expected to
use the outdoor pool when there was ice floating across the top! Cold water
we would have to suffer; it is rarely warm enough in the UK to swim outdoors
until the height of Summer. Anyway, during the colder months we would be
put on a bus and taken to what was known as Gladstone Street or Kendrew
Street Baths. This was an old turn of the century (1900s) swimming baths.
It was tiled everywhere where they could not use wood, or so it seemed to
me. They even had the remains of where, upstairs behind the balcony were
the baths people used to use before indoor bathrooms were common. We
sometimes had to sit up there waiting for other schools to clear the pool
and leave before we went back downstairs to change. There were no changing
rooms but lots of cubicles with curtains or wooden saloon bar style doors on
them which were arranged along either side of the pool opening onto the
pool. When we used the pool on public days at weekends we had to collect a
metal basket type thing from the desk and put our clothes in that, put our
swimming trunks on then return the basket to the desk until it was time to
leave. It had a hangar for your shirt built in. When we went with the
school we just took our clothes off and left them in the cubicle. Usually there would be two or three boys to each cubicle and we were not allowed to close the curtains or doors so the teachers could make sure we were not
misbehaving and getting into trouble. The pool itself was really good and very deep with a small diving spring board. We would be divided up by swimming ability and then have to stay in our designated part of the pool until the end of the lesson when we would get free time; that was when we could play and use the shallower water if we wanted. Non-swimmers had to stay within their limits and there was a near constant sound of the whistle being blown as boys tried to stray towards their friends. An interesting thing about those baths was that they sometimes used to put covers over the pool and stage wrestling matches (wrestling was very popular on TV then though not a sport done at school as in America) or dances."
McCann. W.P. ed. Popular Education and Socialization in the Nineteenth Century.
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