Burnley Grammar School

William,we've just described the same gym kit and how we wore the same shorts from the first year until we left.We were sometimes sent out on a cross country run in our gym period, admittedly usually only between April and October,and we also did athletics in the summer term. All this was still in just shorts and plimsolls; did the same apply to you? In the winter we played football and wore a shirt but with nothing on under our shorts it was certainly very cold at times. Nude showers were obligatory after all the above activities, but like you and many others we accepted it without question and got used to it. However,apart from the cold, I can say that I actually enjoyed it most of the time and it didn't do me any harm, but I don't think most of today's lads would cope with it, which is a pity because it would do them good in many ways.

William
Nothing soft about wearing a jockstrap when you are 16+ years ... just common sense ... Went to school in 60-70s

I have just seen this item and was staggered by the number of comments. I can confirm what most of the others have said about gym and games at boys schools in the early '60s. For gym I wore plimsolls without socks, no vest and shorts with nothing underneath, which made 20 star jumps a bit of a laugh. Any boy wearing pants would be told to take them off because it was unhygienic to sweat in pants. Nude showers after gym were compulsory and supervised by the gym master. Our shorts were baggy in the first form but it was a tradition to hang on to shorts for as long as possible, so by the fourth form we had to roll over the waistband to keep them up because the elastic was weak. We wore nothing under shorts for cross country, athletics, rugby and hockey, no matter how cold it was. Sometimes after games our fingers were so numb that we could not do up shirt buttons but it did us no lasting harm. We had to get on with it and not make a fuss. Jock straps, wet suits for swimming and games only in good weather would have been unimaginable. How soft schools have become!

Bradley, times change because when I was young lad, my parents used to encourage me to take my shirt off and get the sun and fresh air to my body as it was good for me. I used to play outside with other boys and in the summer we often took our shirts off.I later got the impression that our parents were keen to ensure that none of us got rickets as I know my grandmother suffered from it as a child.At primary school any sort of PE was done in our ordinary clothes without taking anything off, but when I went to the boys grammar school at the first lesson we were told to change into just shorts with nothing underneath and plimsolls, no socks and stripped to the waist.This wasn't a problem for me as I had been used to going shirtless for some years and was our kit throughout our school years.It is evident from this website that this was also the norm at most schools for many years.

Similar to Toby our uniform listed a white vest. But from day 1 our PE teachers both insisted on bare chests, regardless of weather conditions!

Mums insisted we wore vests in winter so most ended up being used as underwear.
We used bibs to distinguish teams, but vests were prohibited.
Having PE outdoors first thing on a winter morning was pure lunacy. From Mum insisting on a vest under 3 or 4 layers to going without a vest for an hour on frozen ground.
Always followed by a cold shower.
Prisoners were treated better.

Andrew, our pool was not in an enclosed area and the pool was visible from one of the other school buildings, so you can understand why it would not have been appropriate to not wear trunks.
Our school did prioritise sports and we did get tired after lessons.

Toby, I find it surprising that a teacher would tell students to not wear a shirt during PE lessons, especially at all times in the year. What was the reason given for this rule? It seems pretty unnecessary to me. At my school, I only remember taking shirts off in PE lessons during the summer, only when it was too warm or for certain occasions; it was very rare.

Lewis, speedos are more popular now than before. For competitive swimming, they are much better than other swimming trunks because they are more streamlined and can improve swimming times by quite a lot. I myself wear them for competitions and galas as they really do help your swimming time.

Lewis,although I was still wearing shorts at 14, I would have considered it far too old to be still wearing shorts.
I had to wear shorts 24/7 and they were quite comfortable to wear,albeit they were of an absurd brevity,hence they were referred to as'short shorts'.

John I was in the same situation as you. Although most boys in secondary school wore long trousers, my parents considered me too short for longs and consequently I was wearing shorts until about late 13's or 14. The upshot of this was that not many shops sold grey shorts for older boys and so the one s I had were quite tight and uncomfortable. Without being too indelicate this caused my underpants to cause me discomfort.

Furthermore it was not very pleasant in winter. Short shorts and long woollen socks. What a great day when I was finally allowed to wear longs!

Lewis,'short shorts'were not only worn for sporting activities,but were worn for school uniform for first and second years and then were optional.
My parents didn't consider age a credible reason for promoting me to wearing long trousers, so I continued to wear short till I left school.
I never felt grown up wearing short shorts and they could be a bit chilly in the winter.

Bradley, being stripped to the waist for PE and Games started just a couple of days at school. For our first PE lesson we'd changed into our kit, which was a vest, shorts and trainers and taken out onto the field. The teacher made it crystal clear that irrespective of the time of year, indoors or out, or the weather we would be stripped down and then picked a lad at ramdom and made him drop his vest facing the class. Seconds later we were all barechested.

At the school I attended we were made to work hard during PE and during double PE it wasn't unusual for lads to sweat. This was the norm for me from being a 9 year old through to 18 and leaving after A levels.

Bradley, just as showering came as a shock to you, if you had been a pupil at the time of most posters on this site and your school had a policy of swimming without trunks, you would have got used to it - there would have been no option. At that time, school rules were not questioned. Doing PE stripped to the waist was a shock to me and, although I hated it, I just had to get used to it.

It is quite often that fashion goes round in circles and I wonder if short football shorts will make a comeback. I suppose if one of the premier football teams had short shorts as their kit they would become the "must have" accessory.

Also i wonder if swimming trunks like "speedos" will make a return as a fashion item because I think a lot of men including youngsters abroad wear them.

Andrew, Sorry about that, but welcome to the site.

Rob, it appears you mistook me for another Andrew on this webpage. The post I made about my nephew's school was e first post I made on this webpage.

Andrew, how would those boys in your nephew's swimming class have coped with the experience you described with the Royal Navy and Merchant Navy three day events?

Looking at Bradley's posts, it's clear how soft a society we've become and our education system is directly responsible for this. In my nephews school where he teaches, boys are allowed to wear full body wetsuits for swimming- absolutely idiotic. Looks like Bradley's school at least wasn't too soft and leftist. Bradley, a few questions: was your swimming pool in an enclosed, private area? If so, why were trunks worn? Was proper sport played in your school and did students get a proper workout?

Mason and Earl, sorry I couldn't as wear your questions earlier.

Mason, I remember being slightly shocked when first starting school and being told that we had to shower after lessons. However, it's something everyone got used to. the teachers aren't actually allowed to enter the shower room but they can usually tell if someone hasn't showered if they smell of chlorine from the pool water.

Earl, we showered without trunks because trunks stop certain parts of the body from being washed. The teacher never forced anyone to take off their trunks but he made it clear that trunks weren't allowed in the showers and were to be taken off outside the shower room after swimming.

Peter, thanks for your response. I still don't think I would see any reason to swim without trunks if we had them. Even in an enclosed, all-male environment, I don't see why trunks shouldn't be worn if we had them available. These days, nude swimming would very much be against the law.

Bradley, thanks for your reply and hope you are finding this site interesting for your studies.I too went to an all boys grammar school, but in the late fifties when life was still austere and there was little money for building swimming pools.The emphasis was on teaching us to develop physically and keeping fit.This was achieved with two lessons a week in the gym when we had to strip off completely and wear just shorts and plimsolls and were made to work hard until we were running with sweat and ready to get in the showers. Sometimes we would be sent out on a cross country run, still in the same kit and in the summer we would do athletics similarly attired.We also played football during a double period each week when we additionally wore football shirts with heavy leather football boots and long woollen socks.Needless to say, showers were obligatory after all these activities.In the summer we played the more gentlemanly sport of cricket and wore white trousers and shirts.

To Bradley.
Thank you for coming back. I can see why, in the circumstances, swimming without trunks would not, in your case, have been appropriate and for the sake of modesty, they were necessary. However, in an all-male environment which was not visible from outside the pool area, you might have felt differently. Perhaps those who did swim without trunks could comment on how they felt.

Bradley:

A useful piece of history for you here!
I went to a boarding school late 60s early 70s and in the junior school (10-13 ) and prep school (7-10) all swimming was withouthout trunks. At first we were a bit unsure but after the first or second swims ... We never batted an eyelid ... Suppose that makes it a healthy exercise in itself. Only when we reached the senior school were trunks allowed and of course that became then became a compulsory norm.

Best wishes
Gavin

At my nephew's school he said they actually shower with trunks. I'm curious why your school still adopts the no-trunks showering rule? Do teachers actually make sure that everyone showers without trunks? And was sport taken seriously at your school or was it just seen as an extra? These days schools don't seem to priories physical wellbeing as well as mental wellbeing.

John, when you say that "the swimming pool where we swam nude had vast windows and viewing areas where people could watch", were they school staff or people from outside?

That must really have been daunting as opposed to indoor showers, as you rightly say.
What ages were the boys, assuming it was only boys who had to swim nude in front of viewrs?
Was it a public or private school?

Peter, I just find it surprising that schools could force students to swim without anything on. I just wouldn't find it comfortable. For showers of course you have to be not wearing anything in order to clean yourself properly but I don't see why trunks shouldn't be worn for swimming. Also, the swimming pool is located behind the humanities department building at my school so people walking down the corridors would be able to see- another reason for wearing trunks. The changing room and shower room are not visible from outside.

Rob, yes I am studying social and educational history as one of my units. The school I went to was a grammar school which had a special emphasis on sport. Since the school bought a pool the teachers made sure we got the maximum value from it! In addition to swimming, we also had athletics, the occasional gymnastics and ,of course, football. I wore a t shirt, shorts and trainers. I enjoyed pretty much every sport I did and always looked forward to PE lessons! Showers were taken after swimming and football practice.

Bradley, good to have someone who only left school three years ago.Are you studying social history because a lot has changed in education over recent years? You were very lucky to have a pool at your school and PE staff who were dedicated to ensure that all pupils were able to swim properly before they left. It sounds as though it could only have been a private school and it would be interesting to know what form your physical education took in addition to swimming. Also what kit you had to wear in the gym and outside and what sports you took part in.In addition to showers after swimming lessons, were you also obliged to take them after PE and games and were they communal? Whatever you did or however you did it, did you find it enjoyable?

Bradley - nice to get the opinions of younger people.
Strange though it may seem nude bathing was once pretty much the norm (and there are still places where you can do it - The Ponds on Hampstead Heath, I believe) and so it would have been acceptable in schools. I suppose that, since fifty odd years back, there wasn't the 'pressure' of TV, 'social media', etc., people just took it as 'part of life'. I find it very difficult to believe that there was anything 'un-natural'in it.

Styles change - in the pool at the gym this afternoon I was with a guy who has a teenager would (& did) wear gym/footy shorts that were very short - now his swimming shorts come to below his knees. (Although I have noticed a tendancy to revert to shorter gym & swimming shorts this summer).

T

Peter,I assume that when you were at school you always swam without wearing trunks. Bradley was simply expressing his surprise that nude swimming was common at one time, but mentioned that he had to shower naked after swimming lessons, which is perfectly normal, and that he had no problem with that.The vast majority of us used to have to do PE in nothing but a pair of shorts followed by a naked communal shower without any problem but that was no reason to suggest that we should have done PE in the gym without shorts.

Bradley, was it ever embarrassing to shower or did everyone just accept it? What happened if you didn't shower?

Peter,it could be daunting swimming without swimming trunks,unlike the changing area and showers where there was some privacy the swimming pool where we swam nude had vast windows and viewing areas where people could watch.

To Bradley. If you had no problem taking your trunks off, showering and moving around after your swimming lesson, why would it have been a problem not to put them on in the first place and do the lesson without them?

I left school three years ago and cannot believe how nude swimming was ever allowed to take place during those days! Unbelievable. Our school (boys) was very lucky to have a swimming pool and the PE department definitely made sure that we could all swim well by the time we left school. Of course, swimming took place in swimming trunks but after-swim showers were compulsory and done nude, which we had no problem with.

Cool site by the way, I'm a history student at university currently.