Children of a different social class

[Jack400]

At my secondary school- mid 1970s onwards- the teachers just wore suits I didn't see 'university clothing' until my late teens and then only outside of school.

[Hannah]

I somehow can't imagine the mistresses in Blyton books wear gowns. If they do the illustrators didn't seem to know. Look for example in the cave at The twins at St. Clare's or First term at Malory Towers. There are several scenes inside the classroom and no gowns are worn. And in several of the other books are more images of mistresses, none of them with a gown.

[shadow]

I started secondary school in the early 80s and girls had to do cookery/needlework whilst only the boys did woodwork/metalwork. This was at a comprehensive state run secondary school which had the first female headmistress in the whole of Lancashire. The school also didn't do any competitive sports with other schools. When it came time to choose O levels, one girl wanted to do a bricklaying course but she was told she couldn't as she hadn't done the woodwork and metalwork previously. There was a lot of talking between the head and the girls parents before she was allowed to join in with the boys. After that, the school changed the rules and new students had to do all four subjects.
I chose to do needlework as an O level and bought myself a sewing machine. It's been a very useful skill.
I always assumed the teachers in Enid Blyton stories wore below the knee dresses but I'm not sure if that impression came from the book or the illustrations.

[Anita Bensoussane]

The teaching staff at Malory Towers and St. Clare's don't seem to wear gowns as a general rule. We're told that Miss Willcox, the English mistress at St. Clare's, wears "drapy" dresses with accessories like scarves and belts. Mr. Young at Malory Towers is wearing a black suit when the chalk trick is played in his music lesson, and Mam'zelle is wearing a "tight-fitting skirt" when the same trick is played in her French lesson.

[Fiona1986]

I started high school in 1998 and in first and second year everyone took almost every subject. That meant boys and girls doing HE (home economics, mostly cooking but a little sewing), and what we called Techy though I can't actually remember the proper name of it! It might have been technical drawing but I remember doing woodworking and making a spice rack, a mug tree and a little treasure chest. I think further up the school you could choose the drawing side or the making side as an exam subject.

Anyway, by third year where we had to narrow down our focus and choose subjects with only one or two exceptions the HE class was girls and the techy class was boys. I actually took neither, as you didn't have to, but I actually quite liked techy. I didn't take it as I knew none of my friends (all girls) would, and that I wouldn't feel welcome in a class of almost exclusively boys. I don't think anyone ever said techy was a boys subject but the boys definitely took over and thought they were the best at it. On the other hand, the boys mostly excluded themselves from HE as even the ones who might have liked it would never have admitted it as it was too 'girly'.

So despite an early attempt to give everyone an equal opportunity in all subjects it pretty much failed. It may have been down to how the subjects were split, as you had to do English, maths and French, at least one science (chemistry, biology, physics) and at least one social subject (history, geography, modern studies) (though I did two), so that left art, music, HE, Techy and physical ed, and you could only do 7 subjects in total. Having taken two social subjects I could only choose one from all the rest which was art (even though I can't draw to save my life...)

At primary school the football team was all boys and the netball team was all girls. At high school I avoided sports like the plague so I've no idea if we even had teams.

[Debbie]

At my secondary (late 80s/early 90s) some of the teachers wore the gowns often. The head I don't think I ever saw without his gown, although rather memorably I remember being at an after school club and seeing his grandchild carefully walking behind him carrying the edge of the gown like a bridal train.

Most of the other teachers didn't wear them all the time, but the ones who did tended to make it part of their act with their gown billowing out if they were stalking down the corridor in a bad temper etc. They all wore gowns to things like prizegiving.

[Nair Snehalatha]

Come to think of it -- there's Luke-- garden boy in Disappearing cat-- Luke was terribly bullied by Tupping.and Goon.The findouters were kind to him -- they sheltered him in the summer house and gave him.food .Luke was very good in woodwork and carved several little animals including Dark Queen-- he could make whistles out of wood and paint them with vibrant colors
Although he had never been to school his knowledge of flowers and birds was immense-- but he had access only to the summer house.

[dsr]

The teaching staff at Malory Towers and St. Clare's don't seem to wear gowns as a general rule. We're told that Miss Willcox, the English mistress at St. Clare's, wears "drapy" dresses with accessories like scarves and belts. Mr. Young at Malory Towers is wearing a black suit when the chalk trick is played in his music lesson, and Mam'zelle is wearing a "tight-fitting skirt" when the same trick is played in her French lesson.

Good points. It occurs to me that those three teachers might all have had a reason for not wearing gowns - Miss Willcox because it didn't meet her idea of what a drapy dreamy English teacher should wear, and Mr young and Mamzelle because perhaps neither had a degree. It wasn't compulsory in those days.

I went to a semi-independent boys grammar school (girls in 6th form only) in the last seventies, and the older teachers tended to wear gowns, the younger ones not. It was apparently fully optional.

[dsr]

The only thing with the not going to the front door, actually I wouldn't have expected Ern to do that anyway.

I winder if perhaps Ern had had so little contact with "posh" people that he didn't know about the tradesmen's entrance. Most people in his circle either wouldn't have a back door, or else it would only lead into the yard or back street and would never be used by visitors (unless making use of the facilities, of course!!)

[Nair Snehalatha]

On.Rub a dub mystery Barney.is very cruelly.cheated by Mr.marvel-- But kind Miss Pepper, who had once been mts Lynton's governess and very fond of the children,.finds Barney's father.for him.But surprisingly.there is no more said about it -- not a word of great thanks by Barney., whose dream had been to find his father, -- neither at the end of Rub a dub mystery.or in the next book--the Rat a tat mystery.Did Enid Blyton.dlip here-- because Barney had a lot to be grateful for to misd Pepper.
.

[MARKTAYLORUK]

Home economics - domestic science- pretentious titles.