Do you remember your last day at school...?

[The Large One]

My work colleague opposite me has a lad a Shoreham Academy (King's Manor to you and me), and she was talking about him getting nervous of going to his High School Prom.

I know High School Proms are not totally new (my step-daughter had her about nine years ago) - but where the hell did they spring up from? My last day at school in 1986 was a scorching hot day, having just finished an exam I couldn't be bothered with, and the school being quiet as a mouse in slippers.

Has the 'last day at school' experience changed that much - or do we all want to live our lives like a bit part in 'Grease'?

 

[Badger]

My last day at school in 2000 was actually the last day before we went on study leave, there were a fair few pranks being played and we all signed each other's shirts in marker pens (along with drawing pictures of cocks). It wasn't particularly special and in between all that we had normal lessons but we did have a prom a few weeks earlier which was pretty tame in comparison to the ones you see in America.

 

[happypig]

1979, patcham fawcett, no celebration, no dramas, just walked away feeling glad to see the back of the god awful dump.
33 years later and I've not mellowed, they were 4 of the worst years of my life.

 

[SK1NT]

1996 Set fire to the lockers with magnesium from the science labs and got thrown out early

 

[bn1&bn3 Albion]

1996 Set fire to the lockers with magnesium from the science labs and got thrown out early

That makes my zip locking all the lockers seem pretty poor now

 

[SK1NT]

That makes my zip locking all the lockers seem pretty poor now

What i did wasn't big nor clever and i bought shame on my family

Can i just add it was about 3 lockers max ( i didnt risk lives) and i was monitoring it for the safety of others...

 

[NickBHAFC18]

2008, Dorothy Stringer. Everyone got drunk before/after school, threw flour and eggs at the year 10's which is an end of year tradition. And it was a gorgeous summer's day! Prom was swag though.

 

[deletebeepbeepbeep]

Someone drew a cock on my face and I nearly got expelled.

 

[Pbseagull]

1979, patcham fawcett, no celebration, no dramas, just walked away feeling glad to see the back of the god awful dump.
33 years later and I've not mellowed, they were 4 of the worst years of my life.

I left Patcham Fawcett in 1979, enjoyed my 4 years there, made quite a few good friends that I'm still in touch with now.

 

[Ernest]

Walked out the door on the last afternoon and glad that shit was over, no ceremony, definately no proms or shit like that.

 

[Bean]

Yes, everyone got drunk.

 

[goldstone]

East Grinstead Grammar School 1964 - last day of school.

There was a history of pranks, but we decided to out-prank the previous pranksters.

"Prefects" were given the school keys in the mornings to unlock the doors. We made indentations of the keys in bars of soap (yes, we really did!) and a boy who worked in an ironmongers (yes, they still called them that) on Saturday mornings cut some new keys.

We acquired a scrap three wheel car and the night before the last day of term we used the keys to unlock the school (no alarms in those days) and manhandle (or should that be boyhandle?) the car through the corridors and onto the stage in the assembly hall.

Next morning the car was "discovered", no one admitted to doing the dastardly deed, end of term assembly was cancelled.

 

[bennibenj]

on my last day, think we had about 7-8 fire alarm drills (Kings Manor)

 

[Herne Hill Seagull]

1979, patcham fawcett, no celebration, no dramas, just walked away feeling glad to see the back of the god awful dump.
33 years later and I've not mellowed, they were 4 of the worst years of my life.

Change the year and you've got my exact experience too. I walked away from the place in '87 and did not cast a look backwards at it, and can only describe the feeling of seeing it knocked down years later as one of profound satisfaction. I well remember my father asking me to talk to him again when I'd been working for 20 years, that I'd have changed my tune and would regard school as the best years of my life. Not a chance - I wouldn't repeat that experience for anything.

 

[The Original]

1990 - Kings Manor (although false dawn as I went back in September to 6th Form). Just remember sauntering out after the last exam and feeling relieved at the prospect of no more French class, oh and looking forward to watching EVERY game of Italia '90!

 

[Alex Alex Dawson oo! oo!]

On my last day at Hove Grammar in 1972 we had to return all of our A level text books and then attend a final school assembly. As 10.45 approached and the headmaster was still whittering on about the perils of accountancy, university life or whatever, the upper sixth form progressively started to leave until all, and many of the lower sixth, had re-located to the Stadium at the bottom of Holmes Avenue to meet up with some of the ladies from our sister school. Various items of school uniform were left in the school hall or deposted in gardens, hedges etc en-route to the pub; much of mine was removed and stolen during the alcohol induced celebration, only for my tie to re-appear at a dinner party in 2006!

 

[happypig]

I left Patcham Fawcett in 1979, enjoyed my 4 years there, made quite a few good friends that I'm still in touch with now.

I'm glad you enjoyed it. I found it awful and hated the way (most of) the teachers treated us as inferior beings.

 

[Pbseagull]

I'm glad you enjoyed it. I found it awful and hated the way (most of) the teachers treated us as inferior beings.

Best teacher by far was Mr Murray the music teacher, he treated us as people, but your right about most of the others, coudn't stand Mr Dyer or the short arsed deputy head Mr Tomkinson ( he caned me a few times, but it never hurt because he was such a little tosser), there was another teacher who was up his own backside, drove a Fiat X19, I reckon he thought he was gods gift, can't remember his name though. I was in a Punk band with some mates at School (Nasty), we played the School concert and then got banned from ever playing a musical instrument again at School by Mr Hodder, because everyone was jumping up & down spitting etc while we were playing.
But for me they were happy days.

PS. I played the Drums..........very badly

 

[happypig]

Best teacher by far was Mr Murray the music teacher, he treated us as people, but your right about most of the others, coudn't stand Mr Dyer or the short arsed deputy head Mr Tomkinson ( he caned me a few times, but it never hurt because he was such a little tosser), there was another teacher who was up his own backside, drove a Fiat X19, I reckon he thought he was gods gift, can't remember his name though. I was in a Punk band with some mates at School (Nasty), we played the School concert and then got banned from ever playing a musical instrument again at School by Mr Hodder, because everyone was jumping up & down spitting etc while we were playing.
But for me they were happy days.

PS. I played the Drums..........very badly

I always got on with Mr Ashdown, Chemistry and Electronics, he was very enthusiastic.
I remember the punk band, I knew a couple of the lads (if my addled brain serves), there was Karl D and Wayne C; didn't you do a cover of Sham69's Ulster ?

 

[Pbseagull]

I always got on with Mr Ashdown, Chemistry and Electronics, he was very enthusiastic.
I remember the punk band, I knew a couple of the lads (if my addled brain serves), there was Karl D and Wayne C; didn't you do a cover of Sham69's Ulster ?

Mr Ashdown was a good teacher, Mr Moore was also ok although he was a demon with his blackboard rubber !!.

Karl D ( he ended up joining the Navy and was on the Galahad when it got bombed during the Falkands war...got off uninjured) played base and Wayne C was lead singer ( he sort of modelled himself on Sid Vicious), My brain if definately a bit addled, I can't rememeber who played lead guitar.