Climbing ropes were still very much part of PE lessons for many pupils in the 1980s. Shimmying up a rope was viewed as a vital skill back then, as students grappled with the fear of friction burns or plummeting onto the thin gym mats below. This photo was actually taken back in the 1930s, at Shirecliffe Council School in Sheffield but shows the sort of ropes children were tasked with climbing decades later.Climbing ropes were still very much part of PE lessons for many pupils in the 1980s. Shimmying up a rope was viewed as a vital skill back then, as students grappled with the fear of friction burns or plummeting onto the thin gym mats below. This photo was actually taken back in the 1930s, at Shirecliffe Council School in Sheffield but shows the sort of ropes children were tasked with climbing decades later.
Climbing ropes were still very much part of PE lessons for many pupils in the 1980s. Shimmying up a rope was viewed as a vital skill back then, as students grappled with the fear of friction burns or plummeting onto the thin gym mats below. This photo was actually taken back in the 1930s, at Shirecliffe Council School in Sheffield but shows the sort of ropes children were tasked with climbing decades later. | Picture Sheffield

15 surprising things you'll only remember if you went to school in the 80s, including dinner time favourite

Robert Cumber
By Robert Cumber

Property and retro writer

Published 22nd Mar 2025, 08:00 BST

School life has changed a lot since the 1980s, from lessons to playground games and, of course, school dinners.

If you were a child of the 80s, this retro photo gallery will almost certainly bring memories flooding back.

Do you recall the horrific sound of fingernails being scraped across a blackboard, the days when the game of conkers was all the rage, or the sense of excitement as the big TV was wheeled into class?

Was a custard-drenched jam roly-poly a school dinner favourite for you, or was there another meal you remember fondly?

Some of these aspects of school life will have you pining for your childhood, while others - like the dreaded climbing ropes or being made to do PE in your pants and vest - will make you glad those days are behind you and your children don’t have to put up with the same.

What are your best and worst memories of 1980s school life? Let us know in the comments section below.

This photo of a child's head being examined at Chaucer School in London may date from 1911 but nit nurses were still very much part of school life in the 1980s. Many put-upon parents would love to see them brought back to prevent the spread of the dreaded headlice.

5. Nit nurses

This photo of a child's head being examined at Chaucer School in London may date from 1911 but nit nurses were still very much part of school life in the 1980s. Many put-upon parents would love to see them brought back to prevent the spread of the dreaded headlice. | Heritage Images/Getty Images Photo: Heritage Images/Getty Images

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It's hard to believe these days but back in the 1980s if you forgot your kit you were often made to do PE in just your pants and a vest.

6. Being made to do PE in pants and vest

It's hard to believe these days but back in the 1980s if you forgot your kit you were often made to do PE in just your pants and a vest. | Rotherham Advertiser Photo: Steve Mettam

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The overhead projector was the height of technology at schools back in the 1980s. It was especially exciting when you got to write on one of the transparent sheets and see your work illuminated on the classroom wall.

7. Overhead projector

The overhead projector was the height of technology at schools back in the 1980s. It was especially exciting when you got to write on one of the transparent sheets and see your work illuminated on the classroom wall. | Photo by Gantas Vaičiulėnas: https://www.pexels.com/photo/woman-using-projector-3867319/ Photo: Photo by Gantas Vaičiulėnas: https://www.pexels.com/photo/woman-using-projector-3867319/

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If your school was lucky enough to have a computer during the 1980s, there's a good chance it was a BBC Microcomputer, developed by Acorn Computers, and you almost certainly had to share it with your classmates. Pictured here are two pupils at Hardwicke School in Herefordshire using a computer in June 1987

8. Sharing a computer - probably a BBC Microcomputer

If your school was lucky enough to have a computer during the 1980s, there's a good chance it was a BBC Microcomputer, developed by Acorn Computers, and you almost certainly had to share it with your classmates. Pictured here are two pupils at Hardwicke School in Herefordshire using a computer in June 1987 | Steve Eason/Hulton Archive/Getty Images Photo: Steve Eason/Hulton Archive/Getty Images

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