11+ Selection sense or nonsense?

[mad?]

My primary school was idyllic in the 'old school' way and I had never even seen a worksheet until my DC went to primary. I did, however, learn an important life skill, which has stood me in good stead as a parent...
'On a warm day, (or indeed any day) do not get 2 purple wax crayons and stick them in your nostrils in order to facilitate a more authentic impression of a wild boar (which is your role in some kinds of nature play or similar). You WILL sniff, one WILL get stuck, it WILL be painful and impossible to remove AND yes, 'it' will be purple for a long, long time.'

[yoyo123]

[stroudydad]

It sounds like many of you had a wonderful primary education. My overriding memory of primary was that I had better spelling and grammar than most of my teachers..it was renowned as being a bad school I was the first pupil in 11 years to go to a grammar
The one good thing I learnt was how to look after myself..

[Stressed?Moi?]

I went to a catholic primary school and the main thing I remember is being whacked over the knuckles by nuns, hit across the back by priests and made to wash my mouth out with soap. I struggled and really fell behind the rest of the class. Ah, happy days.

[capers123]

I was at an unreformed old-fashioned primary, until the end of Y5, when it turned into a trendy middle school which 'did projects' and bored my friends stiff. I moved to a different school along with most of the teachers for Y6.

My most enduring memories:

Y2. Telling the teacher that everyone should wash their hands after she'd passed foxgloves around because they contained a poison. She didn't believe me. Following day, I took in a book about plants, and medical uses thereof...

Y5. School trip to Royal Albert Hall to see the EFDSS folk spectacular, complete with The Spinners.

Y5. Whole class following a story book that the teacher was reading. I kept turning the pages at a different point to the rest of the class, because it was interesting & I was an able reader. Teacher got annoyed. I carried on. He got a plimsole (aka a dap round here) & I was given the slipper several times, then told to stand in the corner. I did, then fainted. Teacher panicked. This taught me that working harder than I'm told to, or going the extra mile, is not always a good idea, and reflecting on it had a profound effect on my outlook on life.

[Amber]

Capers, your passing reference to plimsolls there reminds me of a phenomenon I have found interesting as I have taught in various areas of the country. A bit like bread rolls, those shoes have regional names. In the Midlands where I grew up they were pumps; in the North East where I trained and first taught, they were sand shoes; in London and the South East where I started my teaching career they were plimsolls,(though I taught in Herts for a while and I can't remember for the life of me what we called them there); and as you say, in Gloucestershire they are daps. Funny little things they are, too, when you think about it.

[Superflygirl]

They are called "gutties" in Scotland - strange eh!!!!

[capers123]

Indeed. When I moved up here I hadn't the foggiest what my other half was on about when mentioning daps. Could be some kind of small fish, maybe, dipped in egg & flour then deep fried? Apart from OH is, like me, veggie (OH converted 2 weeks after we started going out).

[Amber]

Indeed. When I moved up here I hadn't the foggiest what my other half was on about when mentioning daps. Could be some kind of small fish, maybe, dipped in egg & flour then deep fried? Apart from OH is, like me, veggie (OH converted 2 weeks after we started going out).

And be honest Capers, even in some of the more eccentric parts of our county, wearing deep fried fish on the feet to do gym would not be considered usual. Though I suppose veggies would be allowed to wear tofu, or soya 'dap like chunks'.

[yoyo123]

They are called "gutties" in Scotland - strange eh!!!!

guddies in 'Norn Iron" - but I guess that's an accenty thing!

I moved toGloucestershitre and talked