School subjects in the 1960's

I’d have carried on with Latin after the compulsory 2 years - except that it would have meant I couldn’t do German. In year 3 it was just one of Classics, German, or Extra English.

At the end of the 4th year, we were offered the option of Russian - our brilliant French teacher had done a crash course. Those of us who opted for it (we could drop another O level subject - I was delighted to drop physics with chemistry!) were given the Penguin Russian Course before the summer holidays and told to do the first 5 lessons on our own.

We then had precisely one year to do Russian O level, and 6 of us out of the initial 10, went on to do A level. Our teacher was brilliant - she bought a Cyrillic alphabet typewriter, and would prepare vocabulary lists for our set books, to save us time looking everything up.

One subject I’d have liked to do at O level was Music, but was told I had to do history or geography instead.

I went to a Technical High School early 60's under the tri=partite system, decided by the 11 plus (Grammar if you passed the 11 plus tops, Technical High School if you did OK, Sec Mod if you didnt).

it was a new purpose built school with a very progressive head and keen young teachers. I loved the variety of what we did, dance drama, music, art, cookery and sewing, sports, plus all the usual all up to 16.

We didnt get a choice though about woodwork and metal work and technical drawing being girls.

I do recall however that somehow at 14 decision was made as to whether you were academic or not, because the "non academic" cohort did typewriting for the girls and the boys plumbing/electrics. We did a second language instead.

I wanted to do Art a level but was persuaded out of it by school and parents in favour of academic subjects English History Geography. Classes of 10/12 pupils!

At Uni doing English and History I realised that I was disadvantaged by not having a grammar school background in term of depth of study of English Lit especially, but wouldn't in retrospect have given up my dance drama, music, art, sewing.

As I was leaving schools locally were all slowly turning into comprehensives.

My favourite subjects were English and History. I went on to study both as Dual Hons at Uni in my thirties.

Girls weren't allowed to do metal or woodwork, but in my year we had two boys join us for domestic science. We thought it unfair but they were lovely lads and not soon after I left the subjects were opened up to either gender. Quite right too!

Grandma70s
I liked lacrosse. It was the only sport I was ever any good at.
I remember being told that doing Latin was a choice. I think it must have been teacher’s choice or I wouldn’t have done it, but it has been useful. The Latin teacher even had an ancient Roman name until she married.

My all- girls grammar school taught me to sew, knit and cook alongside English and Maths etc. We were taught three discrete science subjects rather than general science too.

I am daily grateful for those ‘domestic’ lessons, and to the Maths teacher who took time out of the syllabus to teach us how to do daily accounting.
I would have liked to learn how to change a lightbulb etc, but did that at evening classes later.

I was a seventies teenager. We did cooking and sewing up to year 9, I hated both, particularly sewing. However we then had a huge choice of O levels to choose from. I did Art, there was a great choice of languages and I had a friend who did Russian, girls and boys could choose any subjects, including metalwork, design technology, or whatever. Mine was a large co-ed grammar school which became a comprehensive later.

At one local school the C stream had to choose between History and Woodwork at 2nd year. Must have been determined by resource availability.

I excelled in Art and English but my favourite lesson was Current Affairs, headed by a very flamboyant red haired, red tempered Mistress (NOT Miss!)

Salti

44flappergirl, sailing and fencing. How wonderful. We had to put up with tennis and hockey with the sadists from Hell, a.k.a. gym teachers).

This reminded me that apart from the academic subjects, my school taught me to be devious enough to get out of PE and games (lacrosse, yuk) fairly regularly.

Salti

44flappergirl, sailing and fencing. How wonderful. We had to put up with tennis and hockey with the sadists from Hell, a.k.a. gym teachers).

Oh, lord, we had them. making us play hockey and netball just in T shirts in the depths of winter.

It wasn't too bad in summer. I was useless at tennis but I did field sports. I was quite good at chucking a discus and swimming.

44flappergirl, sailing and fencing. How wonderful. We had to put up with tennis and hockey with the sadists from Hell, a.k.a. gym teachers).

I went to a very academic all girls independent school where "boys" subjects were not on offer but neither was needlework. We did domestic science for 2 years I believe.

I enjoyed English Lang and Lit, languages especially Latin and history. In the 5th form we could take up sailing or fencing (not garden fencing!) so I opted for the latter and became quite good at it.

MissAdventure

I was rubbish at domestic science, so swapped to woodwork.

I was rubbish at that, too.

😁

I bet all of us who never did Domestic Science or were rubbish at it somehow managed to cook, clean, do the washing etc, manage a home when we had to!

I was rubbish at domestic science, so swapped to woodwork.

I was rubbish at that, too.

The sixth form in my secondary school had boys and girls having a go at cooking and woodwork and metalwork if they wished to. It was fun trying something new and the boys seemed to enjoy cooking. I wasn't very good at woodwork but I liked having a go and I've still got the small solid wooden 'bowl' I carved out!

I went to a Catholic girls school, in the 50s.

We had cookery, I loved it, still do. My other favourites were maths, art, religion - no grasp of grammar/literature.

I went to an all girls school middle 60 - early 70'.
As well as the normal subjects they included Cookery for the first 2 years however Childcare in my first year looking back totally patronising. They didn't really bother with chemistry or physics, just Biology.
I was also in an experimental small group of girls who went to the local boys school to do Technical drawing, in lieu of Art, this was in my final year, I loved it! Especially as I originally had a place at my local Art school, but changed my mind, I was good but not brilliant, which tbh you needed to be.
Somehow I ended up in a career in the NHS where I had to take classes in Physics, which I needed to qualify as a Cardiac Physiologist.

I went to a comprehensive school in the early 70s. I did domestic science in first year but dropped it in second year for Latin. I was encouraged to take languages and did Highers in French, Latin and German as well as English and History. Technical subjects were not offered to girls but I wouldn't have been interested anyway. The only subject I was sad to drop was Art because I enjoyed it and was quite good at it

I had the benefit of going to an all girls grammar school with an excellent science teacher, who every year got girls into top universities to study science or medicine (to become doctors, not nurses).

However, I was a on the 'arts' side. My outstandingly favourite subject was history, and I was considered a top student, followed closely by geography.

The teaching of non-academic subjects at school, domestic science and needlework, was pretty uninspiring and I am not sure anyone took exams in those subjects, and they disappeared off the syllabus at 15.

When it came to choosing university subjects the school was a bit unimaginative. I and the school assumed I would go to university to study history, but whenever I told anyone this their immediate response was; 'Oh, are you going to teach?' and I so knew that teaching was something I did not want to do.

So after flailing around a bit I decided to study economics. It never occurred to me that, back in 1960, this was considered a male subject. I never really told my teachers and several, right until I left school assumed I would be studying history.

But I did do a degree in economics and I have never regretted it.

All girls grammar school here.
I liked biology, art and English, especially literature.
Also did sociology after leaving.

I attended an all girls grammar in the sixties and I loved domestic science
My A levels chemistry, maths and biology enabled me to study nutrition and dietetics
Isn’t it a shame cooking and sewing is considered for the less able.
When with all the ultra processed food it is becoming more apparent that cooking from scratch is much healthier. Surely both boys and girls should be taught how to cook for themselves and their family no matter how bright they are. I am sure there are people who will say cooking is taught badly Surely it should be the curriculum that needs to be sorted out and not be dismissed

I could not do more than one year domestic science either, I was slightly envious of the girls who had gondola baskets and made lovely christmas cakes in school. My vocation was always sciences

I did enough domestic stuff at home anyway, was a dab hand with a sewing machine and made complete meals for a family of 9 by 11. Eldest and a girl, hence the independence and a dab hand with tools of all sorts

I loved Latin, but found it grossly unfair that being brainy enough to do it meant that I could not have domestic science lessons at school!

I remedied that by persuading my parents to send me to a domestic science course when I left school with all my As and Bs in Highers.

I would simply have hated woodwork or any other traditional boys' subject. Fine that women want to learn these things, just as long as this woman doesn't have to.

I went to a bog standard comp in 1973 and we had a huge range of subjects. My favourites were Government & Politics, drama and history. I enjoyed English litterature but found the exam courses rather a drag as there was a traditionalist head of department who refused to let us study any of the options written after around 1850.

We had a huge choice of art and craft subjects and in addition to the usual art and needlework I also did woodwork, metalwork, jewellery and enamel work and technical drawing.

There was also a huge choice of languages - French, Spanish, German, Italian, Latin and Russian.

In my early secondary years there was a very traditional and sadistic PE teacher which led to me hating the subject - but from the age of around 14 there was a new ethos where we could choose a new sport to try every 6 weeks from a list that included badminton, squash, table tennis, keep fit, dance, weight training and life saving.

One thing - which in retrospect was odd - was that for the first 2 years we never did English, history or geography as separate subjects as they were all lumped together as "humanities"

The other thing that is also bizarre looking back - is that my school adopted "open plan/shared space learning" which meant that 3-5 classes shared the same space for humanities and sciences - the noise was terrible.

I hated domestic science and needlework. Was rubbish at both. Also hated PE. Loved English and English Lit, geography and music. Not sure I would have wanted to do wood work or metal work, would probs be rubbish at those too.