Read the text about English schools in the 1950’.
Preberi besedilo o angleških šolah v 50. letih prejšnjega stoletja.
In the 1950s most of the teachers in British schools were men as women only taught cookery, needlework, P.E. and French. Boys did woodwork and metal work, girls did needlework and cooking.
Every morning elementary school began at 9am and didn’t finish till 4 pm. After registration, lessons usually started with pupils being tested on spellings and times tables. Then there was a general knowledge test. You only went to grammar school if you had passed the 11-plus exam.
Sport was a very big part of school life. Physical Education was done outside, unless it was very cold, wet or snowy. For P.E. and games boys and girls were strictly separated. Even if the hockey pitch touched the soccer pitch, the girls were not allowed to say hello to the boys.
The punishment for bad behaviour at school was being kept in detention and made to write lines, or sometimes a pupil got a sharp rap on the knuckles with a ruler for misbehaving. The teachers also used to hit the children with a cane when they were naughty.
During break times or after school the girls spent ages practising with hula-hoops. At play-time the boys played football in the school yard, hide and seek or had fun making comments while the girls were wiggling hips.
School dinners were basic, simple and filling - the food was typical 1950s fare - meat with vegetables, macaroni cheese, fish on Fridays and always a cooked dessert such as rice pudding, semolina, tapioca or jam sponge and custard.
The school holidays were more or less like today and they lasted for six weeks and for most kids that meant simply not going to school. During that time the kids were playing out straight after breakfast, riding a bike, going fishing for tadpoles or frogs or climbing trees, playing kiss-chase and not having a care in the world.