Clitheroe Royal Grammar School

Toby

We were vests for cross country, as my post.

One of my mates, who went to a different senior school, had to run xc all year around, always stripped to the waist. It was policy across the whole school, and every boy had to do the same, aged 11 to 18, every week.

Andy Our PE/Games teachers held the same views. From the age of 9 to 18 I don't ever remember an outdoors session where the whole class wore a vest for a full lesson. Skins vs vests was as good as it got.. For the vast majority of outdoor sessions we were simply told to drop our vests outside regardless of temperature or weather conditions..

I went to a grammar school in the 1970's.

We had "normal" PE/sports kit, meaning white shorts with school crest, house banded vest, plimsolls, white socks for PE and cross country, plus the usual rugby, cricket kit. This had to be purchased from a particular shop and was expensive.

One of the parents started a campaign (via the local paper), concerned about the high cost, but also suggesting that boys didn't need a vest etc for sport. From memory it was along the lines of "all they need in the gym is a pair of shorts plus maybe plimsolls for cross country. They should run stripped to the waist, even in winter"

Not sure many of us agreed with this (especially bare chested in winter) , but lot of parents did !

Much like the previous comments, we had PE teachers, at least THREE, all with a similar mindset and attitude to boys and effort. If we'd been in an outside PE lesson and for whatever reason our PE teacher that day became exasperated with lack of effort or something along those lines, we would find near ourselves "punished" by being made to take our PE shirts off and go running laps of the school field until told to stop. Sometimes it just involved a small group of boys in class who were singled out, other times the entire class copped it, somewhere in the region of 35 of us.

In one case our whole class was sent running the field in circles with our chests all bare, our PE shirts left in a pile on the grass, and our PE teacher made us all keep running and running, past the end of PE and all through our break time too, finally stopping us when we should have been going to an Art lesson. Going back we were not even given a hot shower, we had to shower but it was made deliberately much colder than normal. Then the Art teacher got thoroughly peeved because we all turned up in his Art class about 15 minutes late and he was in a mood about it, but our PE teacher didn't care about that and we still got the blame ourselves anyway. So we'd been made to run a chilly day shirtless, then a chilly shower, made late, and everyone feeling hassled.

Just a typical day in school really! This was how they used to be with us.

I don't recall ever having to run cross country bare chested but as Toby P mentioned, doing laps of the field that way was also a common punishment at my all-boys school in the 1990s. I think because we normally wore tops for PE outdoors, it felt like an additional part of the punishment being made to strip to your shorts before you began running. In the case of my PE teacher, he refused to allow you to put your shirt back on after finishing the laps, so you also had to spend the rest of the lesson bare chested.
For PE lessons in the gym, our kit was just shorts and footwear, with gym socks optional. We were all made aware of that beforehand in the school handbook, which stated that boys were not permitted to wear a shirt or vest of any kind in the gym.

Alex, yes bare chests cross country was hard particularly on a cold day. Laps of the field bare chests was a very common and regular punishment and you'd see boys doing it pretty much everyday. We were also given two outdoor fitness sessions a month where the class all had to strip to the waist outside, dropping our tops in a line on the yard. Our teachers were experts in getting us to show sweat.

My grammar school, started there in autumn 1968, would have felt luxurious to have a top for the cross country, we nearly always ran out for cross country in our bare chests only, on specific teacher orders. It was considered character building. We were often very cold running, and bits of mud would flick up at your body and speckle your skin, mixing with any sweat that might eventually develop. We also ran this way on some quite warm days, dripping sweat from every pore and feeling exhausted. Whatever the conditions, we did it bare chests though.

I recall turning up to PE with a new teacher in one of my own tops just like others did but this teacher we had just flipped and accused us all of looking a right mess because we all looked rather different, so he decided to fix it and said no tops on and get the lot of it off, from that moment on in his lessons he never allowed boys to show up in different tops of our own and opted for shirtless instead. No other teacher had a problem with our mixed PE tops.

Comment by: Dan on 7th June 2025 at 16:38

Dan, this picture is largely representative of my own schooldays give or take a few years or so. Although clothes rationing in the UK officially ended in 1949, even a decade later, many families simply did not have spare money for relatively unnecessary items such as elaborate PE kit. This was well before the era of designer trainers and annually changing First Division team shirts. When I started at secondary school, PE kit requirements were minimal. As long as you had a dedicated pair of shorts, a short-sleeved top and white-soled plimsolls, you were good to go! For my first two years, up until the time when bare torsos became the norm, we presented a rather motley appearance in the gym, much like that shown in the photograph. Although some of my classmates actually had short-sleeved tops, these were rarely white, and some had obviously been sourced from an Army Surplus Store. For the majority of us, however, domestic economics dictated that the everyday bog-standard underwear vests (singlets) that most of us wore back in those days were quite capable of moonlighting as perfectly adequate PE wear, the more so as crowded changing-room logistics favoured not changing one's vest twice within the space of an hour or so..

Two years on, the goal posts moved. Bare-chested PE was introduced throughout the school, and persisted at least until the year after I left. Dad approved, saying that exercising bare-chested was healthy for boys, adding that I wouldn’t need any more PE vests. Mum, a dedicated vest-wearer if ever there was one, reminded Dad that I always wore my underwear vest for PE. and was more concerned with me catching cold without it.

Now a different aspect of changing-room logistics came into play - why waste time and effort taking your vest off for PE only to put it on again after the lesson, when you could come to school without a vest on PE days. Within a matter of weeks, this tactic had been widely adopted, not just in my class but also throughout the school, and by the end of the first term I, along with most of my class, had given up wearing vests altogether.

I'm surprised they're wearing a mixture of shirts we were expected to run without vests.

Quite right they should all be showered after PE lessons. Sensible school.

Too many people have daft hang ups about their bodies. If PE can force them to confront these fears and deal with them sensibly then good.

I was always keen to take a shower after PE at school in my time and didn't mind doing so and sharing with others even without any clothes on.

No boy should be made to wear shorts and I think as we move to a gender fluid society under Kier Starmer it should be obligatory for all students to wear tracksuits for inside and outside school sports. I also think rash vests and all in one swimsuits should be compulsory so the male upper torso is not exposed. I call on this Labour Government to end compulsory school showers as pupils should not need a medical excuse to avoid this barbaric state sanctioned practice. Here is an example of a school not living up to these values. https://www.stphiliphowardglossop.srscmat.co.uk/information/dress-code-and-equipment/#1650982764984-8eef839e-ebac Physical Education is a National Curriculum subject and all students are required to participate in the course

All students are required to shower unless there is a confirmed medical reason for not doing so.

Although I disliked being in the minority by wearing shorts as opposed to boys wearing long trousers,my parents relished the spectacle of seeing a teenager getting accustomed accustomed to wearing short pants as I grew older.

The wearing of short trousers as part of a school uniform,although it was not obligatory was mainly for looks and disciplinary measures.The shorts that I wore were always short and white knee stockings were uncomfortably held in place by tight garters which left ridges on my knees and had material with the school house colours that had to be kept in place to show that I was wearing them.

I don't know what regular site visitors will make of this fictional 1970s archive film, but it might prompt memories and re-start the conversation:

https://www.huntleyarchives.com/preview.asp?image=1009371

Please don't mind my posting it; though it's not directly relevant to PE, it relates to schooldays.

The job of an incoming labour Government must be to stop the Mysandrist and Mysogynistic practices of our educational institutions that do not allow pupils to wear a gender neutral PE Kit and force vulnerable children to change their underwear.

Here is an example of a school which propogates such a policy. https://www.robertclack.co.uk/zschool-uniform

For Boys
Robert Clack Rugby Jersey in red with blue side panels** Robert Clack Rugby Jersey in red with blue side panels**
Robert Clack Black Shorts with school crest ** Robert Clack Black Shorts with school crest **
Robert Clack Red Polo Shirt with school crest ** (optional) Robert Clack Red Polo Shirt with school crest ** (optional)
Long plain red football socks Long plain red football socks
Training shoes (no plimsolls) & football boots (compulsory for outdoor lessons including football & rugby) Training shoes (no plimsolls) & football boots (compulsory for outdoor lessons including football & rugby)
Towel Towel
Change of underwear Change of underpants (not boxer shorts)
Black Robert clack tracksuit with school crest** (optional) Black Robert clack tracksuit with school crest** (optional)
Black Robert Clack leggings with school crest** (optional) Black silk / satin scarves can be worn to protect hair during contact sports and during inclement weather conditions. They must be tied tightly at the back of the head.

Please Mr Starmer end the discriminatory change of underpants requirement and towel mandate in all UK schools. It should not be the business of the school to dictate pupils must not wear boxer shorts under their pe kit. Boys should also be allowed to wear leggings under the shorts if they choose to protect their modesty.

All clothing and behavior should be underpinned by the desire for modesty – and this applies equally to both men and women. Women are asked not to display their adornments of beauty – except those which are naturally and functionally apparent; (ie, face and hands).

I wonder if Jenny still reads this post (Comment by: Jenny on 12th October 2022 ) and would consider giving an update on your sons PE experiences in his first years at high school.

Chris G and others.

A very happy Christmas to you too and new year.

A happy and peaceful Christmas to all.

I used to blush very easily when feeling anxious or embarrassed. This even used to happen to me in PE if I was suddenly asked to take my top off and be in a bared chest. I could feel and sense my face reddening many times. Now I was told by mum back home that it was only me that noticed what I was doing and that nobody else would even be aware I was blushing. Except one day in PE the teacher asked me what the matter was with me because I had a red face before even doing any PE, and the redness even went over my neck onto my upper chest which he drew attention to. This made me go crimson and even worse and the more I thought about trying to control it the worse it seemed to become.

Toby, thank you for your kind words. Please don't feel silly. The journalist Matthew Parris commented that as a child he had a terrible time over the state of his handwriting; his teachers continually rebuked him over it. He said that in his adult life "Now I type and all is forgotten"; perhaps that is a parallel about how strongly we feel things as children.

Matthew S

Well I feel so silly reporting it now, but at 11 it seemed to be A Thing. As an adult I know they aren't even all that uncommon.

I'm sorry to hear the comment about the scar on your tummy. Even when said kindly/out of interest it still hits home.

Toby, you have my sympathy.

I remember the pang of self-consciousness one day as a ten-year-old, changing for PE in the classroom with the other children. I had taken off my shirt and vest when a girl - out of innocent curiosity - pointed at the operation scar on my belly and said, "What's that?"

I could make no reply.

As I said in another thread, one of the things that stopped me enjoying PE was the point at which it was pointed out to me that as an outer, my belly button was unlike everyone else's. It wasn't something I'd really thought about and as my brothers also had outers it was just the norm for me. Until that point, PE in a bare chest wasn't an issue. After that, source of embarrassment. And yes it does seem so silly writing that now!

In terms of sleepwear, I'm pretty sure I was sleeping shirtless by about 15. Given my parents didn't approve of lounging round shirtless and I always had PJs I'm not sure how that came about. Possibly because I found the button up top uncomfortable?

Rachael? But you are clearly a male writing that post from what you described.

Have you had gender reassignment since your schooldays?

Hi Sharon, good to see a female view. No but we did have a female PE teacher cover and take us on a good number of times aged between 13 to 18. There was an emphasis on physical education and accordingly we were stripped off at any opportunity regardless of weather or season.There was no difference in the way the lessons were taken. We stripped to waist in the gym as usual and regularly went skins vs shirts or vests outside just like we would do with our regular teachers.
It was normal for girls to see us bare chested especially The outsized windows in the gym allowed a very good view and see what was going on and no doubt played a part in first boyfriends. I didn't mind the attention though I looked no different to anyone in my group but it was nice

I was thirteen years old in 1983 and went to a school where the boys did PE like you three Stephen, Simon and Christopher have said, having no type of shirt on. The flu was going around and some of the teachers were off and they were short on staff so the girls got a rare chance to join up with the boys in PE for the first time ever. We got told this while we were changing by our year head, a woman, and I remember the tittering that went on about joining the boys in PE because they would't have shirts on and we'd see them all up close like that. It felt exciting to some of us and it was very much so. It was a very exciting PE lesson but I did think some girls got very embarrassed by it. When we arrived a lot of the boys looked like they had embarrassed smiles on their faces and some looked peeved that we were there at all. It did seem like it was a bit of a distraction but maybe it wouldn't have been if it was something we did always. But what kind of straight girls aren't going to enjoy looking at nice looking boys their age with their tops removed.

Simon what a great answer you've given to that quite simple question by Ian, so simple infact that nobody has ever thought to ask it much.

You're right.

I was in school at the back end of the 70's and into the early part of the 80's. I left in 1982 when I was 16.

My PE recollection matches up with you almost perfectly, except the shorts colour in my case was black for boys in the gym or outside. But in that school gym that was it, only the shorts. I can always remember that funny shuffle we all used to do on our way to the gym along from the changing room, shuffling our bare feet on the cold school corridor floor. When you are only dressed like that, no top or footwear you kind of walk differently as you go along, on the front of your feet rather than heel first. Well that's how I did and seem to recall it.

Our PE teachers always wore shorts, a vest, trainers and had the whistle permanently around their neck.

But you are right Simon, it's a complete leveller in a way even a uniform isn't. I remember many of us would make our own personal modifications to the school uniform in little ways. Sometimes these got called out but much of the time not. But you can't really do a lot about a set of black shorts.

I can see us now in that gym at the start of the lesson many times. We had to all sit along a bench at the side of the gym sometimes to listen to that day's teacher. What I can still see to this day and thought when I was sitting there at the time was how we all just became the same. I liked to stand out and be different. Being 'another brick in the wall' like the famous song said around that time was not for me.

On that bench sat down we really did look no different. We were nearly all the same build, all of us quite slim, all very pale and white, and we were all white in my classes. Our legs looked the same and you could see all these wriggling toes lined up all looking much the same, nothing looked different and if you could only see someone from the neck down it would have been hard to tell who was who. Quite a vulnerable exposed look I suppose, yes, when you have to remember that most of the boys would not really be wishing to be hanging about like that if they didn't have to. But you had to.

On top of that we always had to take jewellery completely off as well, no watches were allowed or even small chains around our neck that some boys had. Absolutely nothing. It must be the most pure form of gym PE attire you can turn out like. We had some quite posh well to do intelligent boys in my class from very good homes alongside a couple of common not very sharp boys from poorer or broken homes and in those gym lessons we all had to turn out the very same and once like that there was visually no chance of telling who might be who out of the lot of us.

As I say and you agree, a huge leveller in so many different ways. But was it really meant to be or is that just overthinking something.

One thing I do know about these PE lessons I was in at that time is they were active. After we got up off that bench to actually begin the lesson we didn't stop moving for too long, we were always on the go in some way and I nearly always came away from a gym PE lesson knowing what I'd done, muscles ached, especially my biceps in my case I remember that. We did a lot of climbing and hanging off things.

I don't know whether I could say it knocked any extra confidence into me but it might have done for some. It made me aware of what other boys my age looked like and I did pay attention to this, although nearly all of us in my classes at the time looked the same so there was not anything dramatic to compare against that comes to mind.

The schools in those days, not even that long ago really is it, didn't seem to understand about the issues that revolve around young people nowadays such as self worth and body image.

The lessons in gym were only all boys however we did sometimes find ourselves being taken for PE in the gym by one of the girls teachers often quite unexpectedly but the basics remained the same with little change.

Christopher - I think there is a lot of truth in what Alyson B says. Throughout the ages, and all over the globe, especially in the hotter regions, men have gone bare-chested, often permanently, but especially when engaged in physical labour or exercise, almost universally to manage perspiration. The adoption of bare midriff styles by female athletes, a look now widely acceptable for everyday wear for women of all ages, even in quite formal situations, represents a major step towards equality, although one wonders why male athletes are still unable to perform fully topless

Hi Ian,
thank you for that very interesting question which I have myself thought about from time to time after having experienced shirtless and barefoot PE in the 1980ies, for indoor and outdoor activities. Our PE kit consisted only of white shorts, which weren’t too long either.
Oddly enough, this enforced dress code seemed to bring about a curious transformation in behaviour. With shirts discarded, a sort of camaraderie emerged among us boys. There were no status symbols or fashion statements, which were obvious throughout the rest of the school day, even with a school uniform, only a kind of shared vulnerability beneath the harsh gym lights. I think, it made us shift your focus from superficial appearances to the shared experience of physical exertion.
The absence of shirts fostered a sense of equality. No one could boast about the latest sports jersey or designer label, or fancy shoes, instead, we all bore the same uniform—simple white shorts, bare chests and feet, which blurred the lines between social classes. Also, the PE teacher being clearly distinguishable by wearing his tracksuit added to the strong sense of belonging to a group which was expected to follow instructions without arguing. And funnily enough we did, unlike in other lessons.
I think that the apparent discipline was mainly because the enforced simplicity of the dress code seemed to instil a sense of pride in us, as we were being treated like ‘men’, or at least we felt that way, that we were expected to endure hardship and go without the comfort of a shirt, whereas the girls got to wear much more clothing and even tracksuits outside, We, as a group of boys, embraced the challenge, recognizing that true character lay beneath the fabric of a shirt, we struggled together through endless series of sit-ups or push-ups and we seemed to find during the length of the PE lesson a common ground that transcended cliques and stereotypes. The gym hall became a level playing field where personalities flourished, unencumbered by the usual teenage bravado, trying to impress girls.
For me, those PE lessons were by far the best ones in school and I remain grateful to my PE teacher for instilling that sense of positive discipline and teaching us to take pride in being a boy and later a young man.