Snowball fights, health, safety and compensation

Big Joe · 01-03-2018, 12:49

The wife was on a rant while watching daytime TV. A headmaster was being interviewed by Piers Morgan because he banned snowball fights. His logic. Children who come in cold, soaking wet, possibly agitated are not prepared for the lesson or to learn. He touched very briefly on the fact that should some pupil put a stone or grit in a snowball then a pupil may get injured and the school ergo him could be sued by an angry parent.
Ok first point. When I and I am sure most of you were at school snow ball fighting was mandatory. If you didn't go into class cold and wet desperately fighting for radiator space to dry your clothes well it just wasn't a snowy day at school. So whats changed? Health and Safety Executive everyone says and that was the line Piers was trying to go down. A pal of mine works for the HSE. He often says that HSE legislation is good legislation but has been hijacked by anyone in particular schools who hide behind it because of the compensation culture that now exists in the UK. And to be honest I would agree with that. This country is full of ambulance chasing solicitors looking to represent people who want to sue someone. My grandsons sports day was cancelled last year by the headteacher because it rained! Rained ! and her fear. Someone may slip on the wet grass and sue the school. Its time we let the kids get cold and wet, dry their coats on radiators and slip on the grass. In my day we called that a slide tackle.

Margaret Pilkington · 01-03-2018, 13:20

I do not remember any day in my school life when the school closed because of the weather
I remember the boiler breaking down at school in the middle of Winter...did they send us home?
What a stupid question...of course they didn't....they made us sit in our coats.
I can remember doing cross country running in the middle of winter...in gym knickers and lightweight plimsolls, I remember slipping and falling in the stream that dissected Priestley Clough(which was where our run took us)....I can remember the games mistress telling us we all had to get showered ...the water was cold.

Did any of this do me any harm?
I can't say that it did.
We do not give the children a chance to have the kind of experiences in life that will help them to grow, be more rounded individuals...this has got to be detrimental to them...Far more so than our (unwelcome, but valuable) experiences did.

shillelagh · 01-03-2018, 13:48

this head teacher had a different response ....

Pupils versus teachers snowball fight - BBC News

Big Joe · 01-03-2018, 15:36

Cold showers after a cross country run in winter. Character building either that or the boiler was broke for 5 years.

Margaret Pilkington · 01-03-2018, 16:37

There were no hot showers at King George's playing fields back then.
They were cold in summer and winter.

Margaret Pilkington · 01-03-2018, 16:38

Quote:

Originally Posted by shillelagh

this head teacher had a different response ....

Pupils versus teachers snowball fight - BBC News

I think he has the right outlook.

cashman · 01-03-2018, 18:11

Trouble today is theres too many "WIMPS" in society, simple as.

Ryewolf90 · 01-03-2018, 20:22

I must admit that when I was at Rhyddings 1972-77 in summer we had a choice of Cross Country Running or Cricket and in winter it was Cross Country Running or Football. As I was rubbish at both Cricket and Football I always ended up doing Cross Country and there was no change in PE Kit during winter or summer. Whilst it didn't do me any harm, it did put me off sports completely and utterly until this day.

I don't remember schools ever closing due to bad weather, but then almost everyone walked to school, none of the this namby-pamby driven to school in a 4x4... and snowball fights were almost obligatory when it did snow

Margaret Pilkington · 01-03-2018, 21:17

I was rubbish at cross country running too, but my best friend was good and she used to drag me along with her.
A lot of the girls would stop and have a fag behind farmer Nelson's barn otherwise I think I would have been last.
I was (with Pat's encouragement) usually in the first ten back to base.
The games mistress used to take binoculars so that she knew who had taken a long time behind the barn...she would smell their breath for the smell of ciggies and they would have to be outside the Headmasters office the next morning.
Cross country running was always the last lesson on a Wednesday...and it put me off all sport too...I hated it.

Margaret Pilkington · 01-03-2018, 21:18

Navy blue knickers and blue legs never were a good look.

Ryewolf90 · 01-03-2018, 21:41

I don't know about the navy blue knickers. being a boy on these cross country runnings, but we did get timed, so if you took longer than expected you had to do the whole thing again.... I hated sports of any kind at school and still do

landhusweg · 02-03-2018, 03:56

Agree entirely on what has been said so far.
I remember vividly having snowball “fights” in the playground at Woodnook St Marys between 1949 and 1952, with the headmaster Mr. Barton, or the teacher Mr. Pickles encouraging us on. The same afterwards at Woodnook Secondary school between 1953 and 1958.
Cheers
Philip Kenyon

monkey hanger · 02-03-2018, 07:52

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ryewolf90

..... being a boy on these cross country runnings, but we did get timed, so if you took longer than expected you had to do the whole thing again.... I hated sports of any kind at school and still do

loved football and cricket at school but cross country running put me off any form of athletics for ever. a good knowledge of bus times and a tanner in your hand did help though. plus i was never caught on my bus journey route 69 to blackley.

monkey hanger · 02-03-2018, 07:57

Quote:

Originally Posted by Margaret Pilkington

I do not remember any day in my school life when the school closed because of the weather

there is a school near to me called foxhill junior schoo which must be one of the highest schools in west yorkshire. its well above queensbury which is between halifax and bradford. it has something in common with the windmill theatre. the headmistress there prides herself in the fact that it never closes.

russthemink · 02-03-2018, 09:32

You guys need to stop living in the past - things have moved on, some maybe not for the better but most are as far as I can see. If people these days are what you call wimps then maybe thats because the older generations have brough them up that way - im looking at you. Put the daily mail down and stop believing all the nonsense. Its like the monty python yorkshiremen sketch on this forum sometimes.