Did you have to do indoors PE barefoot at school?
Posted by PsychologicalOwl8887@reddit | AskUK | View on Reddit | 65 comments
M25 was out with a mate and topic turned to PE at school. He was surprised that I had to do all PE (primary and high) barefoot when indoors (e.g. gymnastics, circuit training, volleyball). He said they were able to choose shoes, socks or bare feet if you preferred.
CyndersParadigm@reddit
Barefoot at primary, white-soled trainers at secondary (because black soles would mark the sports hall floor, apparently)
The_Barefoot_Boy@reddit
Could you go in Barefeet if you want to.
powerben007@reddit
Always plimsolls in mine
Cheese-n-Opinion@reddit
Hmm. I can't remember. We definitely had pumps but I defo remember being barefoot some of the time as well.
The_Barefoot_Boy@reddit
Barefeet is best. Would you go in your barefeet
PsychologicalOwl8887@reddit (OP)
It may have just depended on the teachers preference
parrotandcrow@reddit
Same here.
harley3987@reddit
I think we mainly went with plimsolls for indoor games (90s)
The_Barefoot_Boy@reddit
If you forgot did you always go in Barefeet and in both primary and secondary
The_Barefoot_Boy@reddit
Barefeet was best.
golddust564@reddit
Plimsolls at primary for indoor, trainers outdoor.
Secondary was different depending on sport or activity. Always trainers for outdoor, obviously. Something like this:
Bare feet: gymnastics, dodge ball, tug of war, dance (not quite pe but in kit)
Drama class we had to take shoes and socks off no kit though. Plus when I started secondary we got height checked and had to take socks off for some reason lol
ReindeerWeary490@reddit
Girls did gymnastics and dance in bare feet. Other lessons too if you forgot your shoes.
Essexbarefoot@reddit
Barefeet for indoor PE at primary and secondary school. That was whether it was in the gym or the sports dome. Also barefeet for drama lessons too
Ross_t19@reddit
Was the same for me
EducationalWorld6072@reddit
In January 2008, I moved to another primary school and I was 9 years old in year 4 and I remember my PE lesson at the new primary school where I was the only one in bare feet whilst wearing a pe shirt and pe shorts because I forgot my PE shoes.
Jealous_Sale_9582@reddit
The only time I did anything in barefeet was in dance at Secondary school between year 7 to 9 which was seperate from PE lessons. In dance I remember wearing a white shirt, blue jogging bottoms and barefeet.
miklovesrum@reddit
Yes, we had to do it barefoot. I used to pretend I had verrucas so the teachers would let me keep my shoes on!
PsychologicalOwl8887@reddit (OP)
Did anyone prefer doing it barefoot?
stufferstu@reddit
Yes, all the time. Those ropes really chafed after a while..
PsychologicalOwl8887@reddit (OP)
Was that the rule or did you just prefer it
Cyborg_Ninja_Cat@reddit
We definitely had plimsolls at my first primary school. I moved in year 3 and I think it was bare feet.
In high school we had to have a clean pair of trainers for indoors, but we had 2 indoor PE rooms, known as the sports hall and the gym, and we had to wear our indoor trainers in the sports hall while bare feet were required in the gym. No choice about it.
We wouldn't have been allowed to do PE in socks, that would be dangerous for slipping on the polished floors. (Although we had assembly in the gym once a week in lower school, and unless I misremember, we were all expected to leave our shoes in the changing room first, and go in in socks. But that's not as hazardous as doing PE.)
PsychologicalOwl8887@reddit (OP)
Did yoy prefer doing bare feet or trainers?
FocusGullible985@reddit
If you forgot your plimsoles you were barefoot
PsychologicalOwl8887@reddit (OP)
If you had the choixe what would you have preferred?
HeatheryLeathery@reddit
Sorry, what? He had the option of socks?! How did they avoid having people sliding around while running about? Madness
PsychologicalOwl8887@reddit (OP)
Don't know, maybe people varied their choices depending on the activity
I_ALWAYS_UPVOTE_CATS@reddit
Yes. If your PE was in the hall after lunch, watch out for rogue grapes.
PsychologicalOwl8887@reddit (OP)
Sounds disgusting
JamesL25@reddit
Just Gymnastics. Or when I was at secondary school, you had to go barefoot if you forgot your trainers for indoor sports
PsychologicalOwl8887@reddit (OP)
Did you forget often?
marko1908@reddit
Yep, barefeet in my junior school at the end of the 80s. Many stubbed toes on those stupid bench things as well. It was good for rope climbing though
PsychologicalOwl8887@reddit (OP)
Agree on rope climbing, my mate said he used to climb rope in trainers though
jesuseatsbees@reddit
Barefoot at my school, or pumps if you were posh. I tried to do it in socks when I got a verruca and my teacher lost her shit telling me I'd slip and break my neck, asked me if my mother was stupid, and I sat out of PE that day.
PsychologicalOwl8887@reddit (OP)
Did the not posh people just prefer barefoot?
DR0812@reddit
Barefoot in primary and barefoot in secondary for gymnastics/dance whilst wearing a tiny little leotard. Majority of the girls felt incredibly uncomfortable.
JessicaSmithStrange@reddit
Supposed to, but it never turned out that way.
Mixture of some people deliberately ignoring that rule, and others actually needing shoes or boots because of mobility problems.
annedroiid@reddit
We had to wear shoes at all times, indoors or outdoors.
OkCartographer8399@reddit
We had to do dancing with bare feet In primary school. We learnt the 'twist' to the Beatles twist and shout. Have no idea why we had to have bare feet. Think some teachers have weird fetishes cos I genuinely don't know why our feet was out. Socks off and everything!
1HeyMattJ@reddit
No I had pumps but I used to lick my knee then blow on it ‘cause the coolness felt nice.
HydroSandee@reddit
Your mates hang about with a motorway?
Connect-Smell761@reddit
He’s a cycle path.
Southern-Orchid-1786@reddit
M8, come on
J8YDG9RTT8N2TG74YS7A@reddit
I've heard he gets around.
SwingyWingyShoes@reddit
Usually pumps unless we bright the blue mats out
Informal-Cucumber327@reddit
Barefoot at primary school. I remember the feeling of you’re feet getting stuck on those wooden balance benches
If you were fortunate enough to forget your PE kit you had to do it in your knickers and a vest
user__already__taken@reddit
Pumps
Euffy@reddit
You ever seen Olympic gymnasts do their routines in trainers? You need to have barefeet so you can feel the ground, balance and actually use your feet. Shoes would be incredibly limiting.
seven-cents@reddit
Yeah.. but that was back in the last century
IceAntique2539@reddit
We had indoor and outdoor trainers
Violet351@reddit
Gym and dance were always barefoot at secondary school.
weirddogbas@reddit
Barefoot inside, black plimsolls outside. I used to have to sit on the side and write lines while all my friends got to play the inside games bc of medical reasons (couldn't take off my shoes). I would cry my little heart out. Think thats where my hate for sports started.
In secondary I'd ditch and then I was homeschooled.
DameKumquat@reddit
Barefoot inside, outside was plimsolls in infants then Green Flash tennis shoes in juniors.
HailToTheKingslayer@reddit
Plimsolls in primary school. Trainers in secondary school.
Plenty_Suspect_3446@reddit
We had to have pumps for indoor PE at my school.
buy_me_a_pint@reddit
No we were required to wear some sort of foot wear
JFletcher_1997@reddit
M26 - always barefoot indoors at primary school. Unless you had a verruca then you were allowed to wear pumps
Dave8917@reddit
He'll I remember standing in the hallways in my bare foot pants and vest waiting for for the dinner hall to be tidy-up to then pull out pe apparatuses that's was in the 90s
PureDeidBrilliant@reddit
Barefoot, no. Bare-chested? Depended on which one of the two pervy bastards was taking the class that day.
Then-Mango-8795@reddit
Shirts and skins was common... Even though we had coloured bibs available.. this was the 80s
Lessarocks@reddit
Back in the sixties and seventies we wore plimsolls - or gutties as we called them in Scotland. They were cheap white canvas shoes with rubber soles and we had to disguise the accumulated dirt by painting them with whitening.
Abject_Shoulder_2773@reddit
Yes, barefoot in primary school. Just after lunch was the worst, we would always step in someone's food and hall absolutely stunk without any windows to open.
coldestclock@reddit
Sounds like asking for verrucas to me.
crucible@reddit
Think we’re always barefoot indoors at primary school (1980s).
Just for gymnastics at secondary (90s).
sagima@reddit
Bare feet or white plimsoll at primary school. Always trainers at secondary school
City_Hobgoblin89@reddit
Never heard of it. We just wore shoes, you know, like non freaks