Thank you for watching me, a humble American, react to a day at a British school Original video: • This is Britain - School Got a video request? Fill out this form! forms.gle/NeQp... Thanks for subscribing for more European reactions!
Yes, this was rather ‘staged’ although the broad picture is an accurate portrayal of the UK school day. These kids were a bit too impossibly polite and attentive all of the time! No, we don’t sing in the canteen at lunch - I think this was just to give atmosphere to that bit of the film!
We certainly wouldn't have sung that song in the canteen - more like the distant corners of the hockey field. School dinners, School dinners Mushy peas, Mushy peas (we used to sing Concrete chips) Soggy Semolina, Soggy Semolina I feel sick - toilet quick.
It might be a relatively accurate portrayal of a private (or possibly catholic/religious) school 13 years ago, it's nowhere near representative of any of the state schools I know of.
@@JayKughan Except richer kids get better quality & new more often, poorer ones are still recognised. Uniforms are there to stifle individuality, because the system prefers clones.
@@LoveCats9220 Yes, but from what I can remember those who can pay can get better quality, & in any case they can buy new more often, & can get more of any item, so they always look better. The makes of shoes, sports kit etc is not fixed, not are all the extra things richer people can buy, & they can afford all the school trips, holidays & other special events that other less wealthy people cannot. So the levelling by uniform does not really work.
@@johnchamberlin5962 Yup... not a typical and more common "Public/state School". At most you would sing for a event (Christmas, Easter or something similar).
Yes. You see real kids. Obvs there are hyper polite kids but they are not all like that. The educating series showed the full spectrum and focussed on some naughty uns.
Harrop fold school near me my lad went to it when it was Joseph eastems it's now the lower academy, headteacher got done for fiddling numbers. Real school lol
I was in a UK national Youth association yesrs ago and we tabled a debate regarding where schools should have uniforms over 90% said yes very much due to the reasons you give also because a lot of poor kids struggled and back then uniforms were cheap but smart.
@@user-is9ci4te4x And yet there is an everlasting debate about schools that demand uniforms be bought from one - usually more expensive - supplier, thus creating a divide between pupils from poorer families and those better off. I've worked in a couple of secondary schools in England that were non-uniform, and frankly, the nightmare scenario given as a reason for uniforms didn't happen - there were minor problems with inappropriate clothing, but on the whole fewer problems over clothing than in those schools with strict uniform policies. Bullying happens in all schools, regardless of uniforms.
@@PedroConejo1939 Yes but think about it, parents spend more on clothes if there is no uniform, because children make so much fuss about what they wear these days.
@katehobbs2008 As I mentioned in another comment, in my South London school (where uniform was compulsory), kids were still judged for not wearing the latest style of black or grey trousers, or black or brown shoes, or white or grey shirt. God help you if you turned up in a cheap pair of grey trousers rather than the latest fashionable brand, or a pair of old-fashioned shoes that your brother grew out of five years ago! Yes, uniforms prevent having to have a whole wardrobe of the latest fashions for daily rotation, but the judgement still remains. I remember there was a kid in my class who turned up for school in a dark blue blazer rather than the black blazer required by the school. It turned out that it used to belong to his brother, who had gone to a different school. The school initially agreed that he could wear it as his parents were struggling financially, but unfortunately, the other kids weren't quite so forgiving.
Wikipedia suggests that Forest School, Walthamstow is a Private School, so even 13 years ago it would have been a bit out of the norm for a UK Primary School.
@rb9580 Apparently, its intake is also 4 to 18 year olds, so the kids shown may have actually been in the early senior part of the school. It's unusual for primary school kids to go to different classrooms for different lessons, as they appeared to do in the video.
Looks like a Junior (elementary) school with ages from 7 to 11. Obviously everyone is on their best behaviour and have been rehearsed in the most part. In reality, although they would normally be much more rowdy, kids this age are still polite and respectful.
School buses are not the norm here, though you may find them for schools with large catchment areas. Mostly kids are driven by parents, walk or catch ordinary buses.
All girls secondary school started in sept 1964. No corporal punishment ever needed our head mistress only had to look at you. We were always polite to the school staff.
Some schools are CofE (Church of England schools) which are still state (public to Americans) school, but associated with the Church of England. I went to a regular, non CofE, primary school and in assembly we still did hymns. You get info about events upcoming, the latest school news etc and then at the end we'd sing 2 hymns. I believe all schools, apart from religious schools, need to be 'predominantly Christian in nature'. Personally, I really enjoyed hymns and still do today, despite being atheist.
Like you I enjoyed hymn singing at my grammar school which had been founded in 1726 partly by the local church . To this day I can and do sing those hymns ........and I am 86. Again like you I have no religious beliefs.🏴🇬🇧
@@margaretoconnor3687 PERHAPS AGNOSTIC RATHER THAN ATHEISTIC? I AM 82 AND GRAMMAR SCHOOL AND UNI EDUCATED. WERE WE NOT TAUGHT TO MAINTAIN AN OPEN MIND AT ALL TIMES ON ALL THINGS AT GRAMMAR SCHOOL?
Here in the UK it is normal to have assembly every morning, with a Christian bias, not heavy on religion, but a hymn or two & prayers. It also is where announcements on school events & activities are made by the head teacher etc. This video shows a pretty good school, in a affluent area, with well spoken & behaved children. Not all schools are this well run, or the kids so well mannered. Most schools do not employ special buses , though some kids may use the regular area bus services, or be driven by a parent. It looks very like school was when I was a child in the 1960's, except in those days most of us went home for lunch, walking or cycling, only a few children had lunches in school, because their parents worked or similar, & some children from very poor households. Most towns had/have several schools so there was/is usually one within walking distance for most children, at least up to secondary stage, at around age 11. Now some schools have been relocated on the edge of towns, so car or bus travel is more common, especially for school after the age of 11 years. The British school system is divided into several parts by the age of the children. First there is nursery, for very young children, from age 3, then infant school or primary, for kids between 5 & 11 years. Next comes secondary school, which might be called a grammar school, from age 11 to 16, after which most kids do a further 2 years to study for final exams, called GCE's, general certificate of Education. These exams are graded in order to allow entry into university, or another further education college or course. Children are now expected to stay in some education or training, maybe in a trade, up until the age of 18 years. When I was young many kids left education altogether at age 15/16 to start their working life, if they had not qualified for higher education in a college or university. There is no general 'Graduation' in British schools, as the assessment of grades at GCE's is done by a separate examination body, not within the normal school system, & results are sent by mail, or maybe Email these days, direct to each child. Some schools do arrange final weeks events, like US style 'Proms' etc, copying American models from films etc.
All state funded schools in the UK are required to have daily acts of collective worship of a mainly "broadly Christian" nature. Teachers, older children and parents on behalf of younger children have the right to withdraw from this. Schools can apply to have worship that is not broadly Christian. That is the law, but it is not enforced. When I was a child in the 60s and 70s we ate in school at lunch time in every school I went to. Children were entitled to bus passes if they lived more than three miles from school. I used to walk to primary school, about a third of a mile. My secondary school was three miles away. My father would drop us off before going to work, and my mother would pick us up in the afternoon. We started at 8:45 with the first lesson at 9. Lunch was 12:25 to 1 and we normally finished at 3:45. On Wednesdays and Thursdays we were timetabled until 4:25. That was so that parents could not complain if sports overran on Wednesdays or if we were given a detention on Thursdays.
I left Secondary School in 1970 and we had School Assembly every day with a song, being so long ago I have no idea what the song was, maybe one was psalm 23, now I come to think of it. I walked to and from school everyday even in winter. School buses wher I live are all double decker buses. The School I went to is now a housing estate and blocks of flats. The mushy pea song is a spoof song, like "while shepherds washed their socks at night all seated on the ground, the angel of the lord came down and gave them all a fright".
This is legit what my school was like in the 80s. my sons current school isn't really much different either. i cant remember one bad thing that happened when i was in primary school , this video feels pretty authentic if not a little out dated with its music lol
@@nickhickson8738there’s probably more stabbings in the States in one day than there are in a year in UK per capita. There are hardly any in schools ever. Sorry to burst your biased bubble.
For middle school in the early 80's I would agree, just no school uniform, never went to a school with them. Well apart from the friendly behaviour in the playground, that did not exist.... lol
Yup. Most kids live within walking distance. Or short public bus ride. Certainly within 3 miles or you don’t get the free transport. Longer distance if more rural.
The school in the video is Forest School in Walthamstow, it is a fee paying private school, at my state (public in the US) primary school we sang hymns during assembly it wasn’t a church school, this was the norm until the 80’s or so. My daughter went to a state run Church of England school in the 2010’s and they sung hymns during assembly but my niece’s primary school didn’t sing hymns as it wasn’t a religious school.
I went to a state school that was a secular school in the 90s/00s, but we had hymn singing every morning. But our headmaster used to mix in his favourite pop songs in there too. It was only as an adult that I realised that one song we used to sing was the theme song of a TV show in the 60s and not a hymn and another was a song by Shakin' Stevens 😂
I think school start time is partially a result of being further north, so at 6:30 it would be incredibly dark at some parts of the year. As others have said though, this video is very old, uploaded 13 years ago and is out of date in some aspects. In secondary school I was expected to be in a class at 8:30, and therefore had to be there for 8.
Yeah during winter when we finished at around like 4pm it was indeed very dark. In Sweden our days would vary. Sometimes we started at 8am or 10am and finished at like 2pm or 4pm. In high school I would finish at 5pm on Fridays. The sun goes down at like 2 or 3pm during winter in Sweden btw
I was at primary school not that long ago ( I am an adult now). My primary school let people in at 8:30 but started doing morning actives around 8:45, such as reading. Then people could arrive until 9 but it was still classed as a bit late. My school was in Devon. Then school would finish at 3:30 and I would get the school bus home. It was a village school. It had around 80 students from other small villages and farms.
All schools begin with an assembly, which by the Education Act has to include a portion "predominantly Christian in nature". At my old school, as with almost all boarding schools, we had a chapel where we assembled a couple of times a week, plus Sunday mornings.
They do not all begin with an assembly; I can't remember the last school I worked in that did that. Most schools I've been in recently start with something like tutor time with each pupil in their respective tutor group. Still nothing remotely religious though. I've seen some CE primaries and an Islamic school with a daily worship event, but not secondaries, and not even all primaries. Due to the nature of my work I've worked in over 50 schools over the past decade, about 70/30 secondary/primary. Assemblies are the exception, and usually just for special events.
These days, Assembly isn't always the start of the school day - it can be timetabled for any point in the day. The school I taught at for 20 years eventually moved it to last thing in the school day, and I''ve often had it at just before morning breaktime.
@@desperadox7565 In theory, no, but in practice the UK is mostly secular. Unlike the US, that in theory has separation of church and state, but in practice is riddled with evangelical influences.
@@desperadox7565The Church of England is the "established" church in England. The King is the "Supreme Governor" and bishops sit in the House of Lords. School Assemblies - with a religious element - are required by law in all schools, though this is not always enforced.
Mushy peas are rather nice, traditionally served with fish and chips. (Mushy peas are basically marrowfat peas {which you buy dried} soaked overnight [with baking soda], then rinced, boiled, and then left to simmer a bit too long compared to normal peas. The mushy peas are then seasoned with salt and pepper.) They are rather nice!
The song goes "School dinners, school dinners, mushy peas, mushy peas, soggy semolina, soggy semolina, I feel sick, toilet quick," sung to the tune of Frere Jacques. It's making fun if school dinners in a creative but gentle way. We do NOT actually sing this in the lunch room 😂 Cheese & onion is a really popular crisp (chip) flavour. Its tastes most similar to sour cream and chive flavour
Say what you will, school dinners make you ill, and Davy Crockett died from Shepherd's Pie, All school din-dins come from pig bins, Out ot Town. (sung to the theme tune of the TV show "Out of Town")
These kids were 10 or 11-years-old and were at Primary School. You were probably looking for Secondary School children (11 to 16, or 18). No, children don't sing while eating their lunch. There are some religious schools in the UK but, of the Christian ones, most would be Church of England with Catholic ones second. Most schools are State schools, 100% funded by the Government. The religious ones are 95% funded by Government and must follow a curriculum set by the Government. P.S. Halloween existed in Scotland long before Europeans had even set foot in America.
My primary school had a bus it was ran by a local bus company. It was mini bus with the capacity of 16 or something. The driver we had later on, was lovely.
Some of the high schools in my part of Scotland have private contracts with local bus companies. I think they are still entitled to transport if they live three or more miles from school.
I don't think we had assembly every day at primary school in the eighties, in Scotland. It might be a Church of England school. Everyone is certainly on best behavior!!!😄. I think they have schools starting at nine because of the hours of daylight, so kids are less likely to be walking in the dark, although 9 to 5 are also standard office hours. Halloween has it's roots in ancient Celtic beliefs. Of course we celebrate it. It's very commercialised now. When I was a kid it was a lot more traditional.
@@evelynwilson1566 Mine was very similar to that (I don't know the exact distance). The council would give us a bus pass. for free transport. But only for use on the school buss. basically so we could be identified. Its interesting to see how similar to mine but I am in Devon.
When I was an undergrad in the early 1980s, I worked a couple of summer vacations in the transport office of Lincolnshire County Council. At that time, the council owned about 70-75 full sized school buses, plus a few tens of school minibuses. School buses can be important in rural areas.
Most primary (elementary) aged children will live within walking distance of their school. But high school children ages 11 to 16, might have to get public buses. (Don't forget we have a huge network of buses here in the U.K. compared to the States.) They travel further away from home, because there might not have been places available in their nearest choice of school. Some parents might enroll their younger children in a school thats further away, but is near to their work. They can drop their child/ren off then pick them up later. It saves time. Young children (7-11 year olds) wont travel to school by bus unless accompanied by an adult.
It depends where in the country you are. There are plenty of schools outside the big cities that do have school buses, but the difference is that they are just regular buses or coaches that do a specific duty on a school run, but can then be used for other duties at other times.
@@stevieinselby That's why they are not School buses. School buses in the U.S. are dedicated to, and painted yellow, and have traffic laws ascribed to them. Cars have to treat them differently to other traffic. Not sure, but you may not be allowed to pass them if they are picking up or dropping off passengers.
It’s more like school was for me in the 50’s and 60’s starting the day with assembly and hymns. We didn’t have chairs to sit on though just sat cross legged on the floor. By the time my daughters went to school in the 90’s I think assembly was once a week and no songs.
We were singing to and from the swimming lessons, we had to go on a bus and some of the classmates initiated it and almost everyone joined in, it went on for 6 years. I wonder if the other classes did that, i never asked. And...no plates to eat on? we had regular porcelean plates and the food was provided by the school, everyone living within 5 km walked or biked to school.
Back when I was at a particular school between 1983 and 1987, we had music lessons, and would often do singing during those. We would also be split into groups, and told to go off and compose our own piece of music on a theme. This was between the ages of 9 and 12, I should say. We would also sing during morning assemblies.
Also. For a legit 100% depiction of what school is really like in the UK. The best thing you could watch is The Inbetweeners if you haven't. It doesn't get any more real than that.
There’s a good series called That’ll Teach ‘Em that sends some modern teenagers to be taught in the way schools taught in the 1950s (the only thing taken out was the cane, and that was for legal reasons)
About a mile away from this school is a program from TV titled educating the east end it is completely different education system as Forest School is public school whereas the other is a state school
Uniform also identifies you to your school when you're not in school premises, school trips etc or just going to and from. although older I was often reminded by my teachers, while in uniform, our behaviour out of school can be reported back.
Halloween started in Britain in the 16th century! A lot of Americans think that they started this tradition. Mushy peas are delicious, we Brits eat them with fish & chips. And our schools aren't that perfect. We have naughty and disruptive kids just like anywhere else. Most of our schools have uniforms.
School started for me 9am in primary school and we only had assembly once a week on a Friday. We didn't have a school song but sung kids hymns. High school it was 8:45am which was 'registration' and the first actual lesson/class was 9am. Assembly was less frequent, usually only at the beginning of the school year. Also registration it was teacher calls out your name and you put up your hand and say, 'here' so this school in the video is very quite polite. You usually would say, 'Good morning Mrs so and so' together when the teacher comes in and says 'good morning glass' Not all teachers do this.
Schools are required to have an act of worship by law. Typically, it will be an assembly with a prayer and a hymn. State schools can be non-denominational or religious (the religious ones are still state funded with either the buildings or part funding from the church. Mostly they will be Church of England or Catholic.
Mushy peas was at one time mainly a "Northern thing", these days they seem to be available eveywhere. I didn't see them until I joined the Airforce in the seventies. Wierdly, every time we visit Germany, I have to take certain food parcels, over including mashy peas and cheap sausages, to keep my Irish friends stocked up with their childhood foods.
Completely unlike any school that I attended back in the 50s and 60s! We used to sit in chairs with a proper desk in front of us in rows, girls on one side and boys on the other. We did have a school assembly where we sang hymns, cannot remember if we had chairs to sit on though. We certainly did not sing during our lunch break, I don't think that mushy peas were a thing back then. Nobody ever got a lift to school, we all walked there and back, unlike the kids of today, I don't even think the the phrase, "The School Run", had ever been uttered. I agree that the school that was depicted was a touched too sanitized, but it was quite an enjoyable watch.
By the way Halloween derives from England and Scotland. I think the English stopped celebrating it centuries ago, but the Scots always have celebrated it widely. I suspect that most of the American Halloween traditions derive from Scotland
Up until the early 1980s, before the introduction of the National Curriculum, it was the law that every school should hold an assembly every day and that it should be "broadly Christian in nature". The only subject that was mandatory was Religious Studies.
I’m a primary school teacher in England. and have worked in schools that are hell on Earth. I changed to an outstanding school and…oh the difference. I loved the children. “Do this and then do this?” Way to go teacher, you explained that well. 😂
I've not been in school for many years, way before you were born I'd left and started work. This is pretty much how we'd act at school, I started around age three playgroup, then into infant school, which was actually in the same field as my top school ( junior) , then moved into secondary school, we had assembly throughout my whole life in school, Church Of England ( Christian) we would walk to and from school the majority of the time, for secondary school we had a school coach, but would depend on the weather if I walked or cycled as it was up a steep hill which wasn't easy going up and down when we had snow and ice in the days we actually had seasons. Some lessons would be single ones lasting around half an hour, otherwise it'll be double period so an hour of Maths or Science, which we also had different science lessons, combined science, biology and something else,which escapes me. We would either have school lunches or take a packed lunch, we'd also have break time with a small glass bottle of milk, think they were about 1/4 of a pint, but this was only at infant and top school. No matter what the weather you were sent outside for PE, and we had a unheated concrete swimming pool which both infant and junior school would use again we used it even during the colder months, if you didn't hand in homework on time without good reason at secondary school you would likely get a detention, this would also come into play if you'd been caught smoking behind the bike sheds or something else, or unruly in class you'd be sent to stand outside of the class for the rest of the lesson, and we still had the headmaster with the cane which luckily I never had, which is probably why the British are more resilient, I can't speak for our other nations as I don't know how they ran their schools, but I would guess pretty much the same. I was also lucky in having grandparents born between 1895 and 1905 so history homework was easier, or the world wars as one grandad and people in the family I never met fought in the first war and the other grandad in the second one, plus a set of grandparents were farmers from 1920 onwards, although grandad did this before he went to war in 1914, so I had an advantage on cookery lessons or Home Economics as it was called back then, and my two Nan's would teach me about preserving meat etc as they were born before fridges.
We all know how Americans like to pretend to be foreign, whilst we think of them as being British! They search for differences and it comes down to singing in school, puddings and road markings! Even their three branch governance was copied from ours, or be it:- The King became a President. The House of Lords became the Senate. The House of Commons became the House of Representatives. Then all based on England’s Magna Carta and the Bill of Rights. When visiting the US I certainly don’t feel I’m somewhere foreign, it’s not like France for example.
I know that's a common view among the British. But, while the culture is quite similar, there are a lot of differences between the UK and the US. The government and elections are very different, and the healthcare system is very different. For example, while there is a Church of England across the pond, such a thing is expressly prohibited in the US Constitution's First Amendment. While the Prime Minister is selected by the King and political parties, the US president is elected by state electors. When I visit the UK as I am doing now, I do feel foreign in many ways. The US has always been about 40 years behind Western Europe. I wish we would catch-up
@@chansetwo why? In the comments someone said this is a private school. In private school you will hear students praying be it Catholic, Christian, Jewish or Muslim in the U.S.. At the start of each day we say the pledge. They sing a hymn. You know some districts around me were not saying the pledge and after 9/11 the students asked to do it. In you lived in the UK you could go to a free state school that is C of E, Catholic, Muslim or secular. All schools typical accept all faiths but you know going it what one they will hear about. Even a secular school in UK might have a prayer room for the Muslim students. Not all have set aside space for that. The private Catholic school I went to in U.S. had a few student not Catholic. They had to take religion. They got to adapt the prayers like the Our Father and such when tested to they believe… religion was not just bible but church history, world religions, we got a lot of decision making and sex education as well in that class. We had to do service projects as well. I went in the 80’s taught by boomers so if a pope in the 1950’s in the room he would probably faint and what came out of the teacher’s mouth. The entire reason there were English people in North America was another form of Christianity not permitted as it conflicted with allegiance to the Crown. So they wandered around western and Northern Europe and then finally sailed across the pond. You would likely object to them as well. But their fleeing a Christian county to be able to be Christian is why the U.S. forbids the government from establishing a religion. The U.S. 50 years before Western Europe. Longer really.
@@kristinesharp6286 I can't explain the importance of the separation of church and state to you in the youtube comments section. It originated in 17 century English Enlightenment philosophy. Start by reading John Locke's Second Political Treatise. That's where Thomas Jefferson learned of it.
@@chansetwo you don’t need to explain anything. I’m an American. I majored in history. And older so I didn’t learn the junk they are teaching today. I will say today academia, politics and the media have decided to create a religion. It’s environmentalism. I went to Catholic school and having witnessed remote learning noticed my kids heard or read the term climate change more than I heard God, Jesus combined. They say people believe in God cause they hear the word God over a thousand times. Same for other phrases and words as well. Environmentalism is just another mechanic to control the public. Instead of we must build a resting place for pharaoh, we must conquer the heathen, we must burn the witches.. now we must be cold and poor for the planet. Not everyone. Just the ‘west’. Had we not dug for coal and oil and created nuclear power the planet would have lost its trees long ago. And solar power requires rare earths just as dangerous to obtain for the laborer as coal for the miner. Maybe more as they are in countries that care nothing for labor. In the east. Hmmm? It’s really no different than the tea/opium wars. One led to the other. The East is full of place that can’t tolerate religion or insists on one alone. But the West is lacking in character? To attend a church in China I would need my passport with me. Secularism and paganism have no values for human life. Christian nations don’t expose infant girls at birth so they die. Christian nations don’t push gay people off the roof. Christian nations don’t execute servants from dropping things or relatives cause they found true or false a transgressor in their family. Nine familial exterminations, they still do that in North Korea. Christianity like everyone else had slavery, but Christian countries actually ended slavery. If governments have Christian values they are more fair to live in than those without. If you had to be reborn what country would you choose to live your entire life in? Does it have a Christian culture or majority?
@@kristinesharp6286 Being an "older American" is irrelevant. being a history major is an irrelevant appeal to authority fallacy. The separation of church and state is a philosophical concept, developed and justified by philosophers. If you had read Locke's Second Political Treatise like I suggested you would understand that. Babbling on about North Korea and environmentalism and the rest of it is irrelevant. Close your mouth and open a book. You can't discuss something you never bothered to understand.
I'm German and singing at music lessons was compulsory at school until we were around 15 years old. Later we could choose to sing in front of our class to improve our grades. I'm from Bavaria and went to school from 1982 to 1996. Don't know how things are now.
All schools have an assembly , or used to, not necessarily religious but many do have hymns of a fairly general nature. I found some of your comments rather mean as it happens. And yes we do a lot of singing. And uniforms, like any uniforms, also give a sense of belonging to a particular group.
I live in the UK when I was in Infant and Primary School (age group 5 to 11) After registration in the morning all classes had to go into the school hall for assembly which lasted about 15 mins it was just the headmaster talking about school business and any issues affecting the school, then a few Hymns would be sung, and it ended with the Lords Prayer, then we would go back into class for the first lesson, when I went to Secondary School which is probably High School in the USA (in the UK Secondary School starts at age 11 until the age of 16 this is when I was there, I think the leaving age is been pushed up to 18) there was no singing at all in assembly in Secondary School. I left School in June 1987, I can imagine the School day is vastly different today than it was in the mid 1970s to the late 1980s.
We always used to break out into song in class and lunch... every single day. Used to drive me nuts. Lessons wouldn't start for 15 mins because we had to let Geophrey finish his solo. Have you ever seen the movie compressive musical (I think it's called high school musical in America)? Well it's basically a documentary.
I work in a UK C of E infant school and assembly is now called collective worship. My school has just about 100 children from nursery to year 2. Still sing all the good old hyms!
The hymns in primary school comes from the fact that until quite recently (relatively speaking) schools were ran by the Church of England (England of course not having any formal separation of Church and State). When the State took over the management of schools from the CofE, one of the things it promised the Church was that prayers and hymns would be mandated in schools. I don't know if currently its as big of a thing, given that this video was uploaded 13 years ago. But, as someone who was in primary school in the mid 2000s, I and everyone I know in my age group was made to sing hymns during assembly at primary school.
This would be a public school. The UK had an established church- that of the Church of England and Church of Scotland, hence the hymn. However, Australia has the same provision in our constitution as the US about not having an established church, and we used to say the Lords Prayer in morning assembly. I don’t think they say prayers at morning assembly in school anymore
Not all schools are church affiliated, but those that are do have religious education and hymns in assembly. Assembly wouldn't normally be everyday, maybe once or twice a week for each class year. I feel strongly about school uniform for exactly the reasons you stated.
😂😂 Haha , Your thumbnail "you have to sing??" Really touched a note with me (pun intended). On my first day at an English CofE school I was given a number of books, one of which was "Come, Let us Praise", and I remember thumbing through the whole book and thinking "what?? I have to learn ALL of these songs?!?! 😮😮) I did learn them quickly, I am a natural musician and remember words and lyrics like a robot so was easy , but was a stark contrast to what I knew before. I emigrated to the UK in 1989 from a little island called Bougainville in the Pacific. My dad was British and he registered me as a British citizen as a baby. I knew about British life from my dad and holidays to England (my Mum is French//Italian so I knew about that also from my mum and family in France and Corsica). Singing all of these Hymns at an English Church of England Primary school was just one of the first big culture shocks I experienced at the tender age of 9 😱🤣
Our schools don't start so early because most older children walk to school or use public transport, and it reduces accidents if they aren't doing it on dark or foggy mornings. That's one reason why we adjust our clocks by an hour twice a year. Lollipop ladies (and men!) don't usually stand by existing pedestrian crossings where anyone can press the button for themselves and walk safely! They are more likely to be at a place where there isn't a crossing but the traffic is fast, on a route that children need to use to get to school.
Cheese and onion crisps are a classic flavour in the UK although it was actually invented in Ireland. Traditionally we have mushy peas with our fish and chips which is actually quite nice.
The tradition of Halloween on 31st October comes from the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain. Samhain was the Celtic New Year and they celebrated it on 1 November because that was the end of summer and harvest time (life) and the beginning of winter (death). It was also the time for ghosts to return to earth for a day. People lit a big fire, wore special clothes made of animal skin and hoped to be safe from the ghosts and the winter. The Celts were afraid of the ghosts that came on Samhain. If they went outside after dark, they covered their faces with masks. They hoped any ghosts they met would think they were ghosts too and would leave them alone. In early America, the Native Americans and the first Europeans celebrated the end of the harvest, but not Halloween. When Irish people arrived, the harvest festival started to look more like Halloween and it became popular across the country. In the late 19th century, people tried to make Halloween less about ghosts and religion and more about celebrating the season with a party for neighbours and family. That’s why Americans today wear all kinds of Halloween costumes and not just scary things like witches and ghosts like in other countries.
We always sang at assembly, All Things Bright and Beautiful etc, I used to enjoy it. I didn't have to wear a uniform until high school, but my kids schools have always had a uniform. We sang 'Our school dinner, our school dinner, concrete bricks, concrete bricks. Soggy semolina, soggy semolina, I feel sick toilet quick, it's too late it's on my plate'.
That was amazingly similar to my Church of England state (to you public) school, in the 80’s. But we started earlier, and said grace/prayers at lunch. Morning assembly sometimes had us pupils act out bible stories in costume. After lunch we also had an additional assembly for hymns and birthday wishes (if it was your birthday you came to the front to collect a small packet of sweets). After lesson one we usually had a bottle of milk, at first break (recess) we had a biscuit. At lunch break we would often play sports on the fields. It was a working class, very poor area but the education was superb. By the time I did my 11+ exams my reading age was 16+ and I had read every single book in the school, because they encouraged reading and taking books home. From there we went to ‘middle school’ which was quite different, there were no morning assembly, no prayers, no hymns, but we were encouraged to go to the nearby church for mass/prayers. We had one weekly assembly on a Friday, where the weekly birthdays and certificates for attainment were celebrated, again, no hymns. At middle school we we essentially prepared for adulthood and high school. We were placed into houses (teams) where our academic and sporting attainment earned our houses points, and an annual cup was presented. We had house prefects/elected reps. Then at 13 we progressed to high school, which was far, far less ‘Hogwarts’ and was very hard to navigate due to it being where all the faith school, state school and other pupils all finally came together. Here we were placed into tutor groups or sets, where you will be assigned a tutor and head of year and you would spend your 3 years in the school in the same tutor/set so these people and your fellow pupils were the same for the 3 years. There were 10 tutor groups/sets per year group. Then within classes themselves you were assigned 1-5 based on academic levels, 1 being the top class. Oh and we had houses still, where academic and sporting attainment were rewarded, but really nobody cared about it, and we had no prefects or anything, so I never understood the point of that.
That was never the words I used for the "school dinners" song. School dinners, school dinners, concrete chips, concrete chips, soggy semolina, soggy semolina, I feel sick, doctor quick, too late, done it on my plate.
Angharad is a traditional Welsh name, so either her parents are Welsh or they were big fans of Alan Garner novels when they were growing up (as I was).
Yes school uniforms are supposed to make no distinctions between rich and poor but in reality school uniforms are very, very expensive. The difference between the those with money and the poor are obvious. Many kids get second hand school uniforms and have to wear them even when they grow out of them, while the better off kids will get new uniforms each year.
Way back in the '60's, I walked 3.5 miles to school and then home again, no matter what the weather. School buses were provided for those children living further afield. My Comprehensive School had over 1900 pupils, as did the neighbouring school a field apart. There would be a regular convoy of double-decker buses transporting pupils to/from school.
No school buses like in the USA. Some schools do have buses, but they are run by private contractors who charge the school , who in turn charge the parents for their kids getting on the bus. NOT CHEAP !!! Hundreds of £s a year !! Not all schools have a " religious assembly " in the morning. You will be lucky to see a " school day vlog" as phones are banned in the classroom. Try watching EDUCATING YORKSHIRE. That will open your eyes !! BREAK TIME = RECESS. Not all schools have a kitchen where they cook hot meals. Cheese and onion crisps are the most popular flavour in the UK. FISH AND CHIPS WITH MUSHY PEAS IS A CHIP SHOP FAVOURITE. It is very rare that a British kid will live near to the school they go to. Your parents have to apply for a school place. You just can't go to the nearest one.
When I was at junior school in the 1960s we had singing lessons as part of the curriculum. Some of the songs were transmitted by the BBC on a radio programme and we had to sing along to them and read the music as we sang. Angharad is a Welsh name. When I was a child nearly everyone walked to school, now most are driven, and, guess what, children now are obese, there were hardly any obese children in my school in the 1960s.
This is primary school. I was at primary school in the 80s, and yes, although it was not officially a religious school, a couple of the teachers were stridently Anglican (Church of England), and took control of assembly. As such, we had to sing hymns every morning, usually at least two. We changed the words in humorous ways if we could get away with it. It should be noted though, that at the time, it could reasonably be assumed that practically the entire student body was either Christian or non-religious (and didn't mind joining in). At my school of over 300 pupils, only 2 were non-white and non-Christian, for example. The ethnic and religious make-up of the country is different now and I'd be surprised if there are many schools that are not overtly Christian that still sing Christian hymns in assembly. I'm pretty sure the school my nieces are at haven't done that for a long time.
Pity. Students can’t be Christian cause new students may not all be? Is that the price of inclusion? Would the same accommodation be extended going to non Christian countries? Would the Buddhist and Islam practice during the school day go away with a few Christian students attending? It’s in law and it’s a Christian country for pity sakes. Legally not just culturally Christian. We all know the hostilities between Catholic and Protestant and there appear to be plenty of both schools in the country.
I'm glad you realise that this isn't strictly true to reality, that everyone is on their best behaviour. I don't think those kids are singing at lunch time. I think it's just the sound track for the video. And at all the schools I ever went to, we had proper plates and cutlery. There has been a bit of a scandal over here over the state of some school meals being disgusting and not edible. The meals these days are generally contracted out.
The hymn that the children were singing was "Light Up The Fire" which has been recorded by the Christian group "Parchment". I used to sing this in the early 70's. The U.K. is classed as a "Christian country" and Assemblies were always held each morning by the whole school after Registration. We usually sang two hymns, had a scripture reading, a short sermon and prayers. I left school in 1972 so don't know if assemblies still take place as the U.K. is increasingly secular. We also have exclusively Church of England, Catholic and Muslim schools.
This is a normal shool. The things you see is to do with trying to keep the manners and having a sense of what class means. As in classy not belonging to a class. But this is how all kids from my family went to school. All schools i know looked like that. No one would be any different than this.
In Tassie I went to a Catholic school and we had uniforms...best thing ever...we were all the same ...not being judged by the cover...we started at 8.15 and finished at 4...good memories I hate school in Italy 🇮🇹...❤❤❤❤❤
There are certainly elements to this which are accurate. I imagine the comments re switched off because youngish children are making the content. School meals have to meet certain quality health and hygiene standards. Religious assemblies were at one time compulsory and strictly upheald in state schools, the rules and laws on daily collective worship in schools are complex, there is an opt out by parents and some schools will stretch the definition of worship, others have been known to not comply. it used to big part of British culture to make up songs and chant, often rude or funny, often changing the words to popular songs, It used to start in playschool (Nursery) up to secondary school that you would have singing classes one of the popular song books when I was young was "The jolly Herring"
We had Assembly every morning. Greeting from the Headmistress, greeting reciprocated by entire school. Two hymns, prayers, a doxyology followed by notices.....😂❤😂😂❤
Ryan, you mentioned “where are the school buses”. Well we don’t have them and don’t need them. I ,like most primary (elementary) school kids, walked to my school. For my secondary (high) school I did get the bus but it was just one of the regular area public transport buses available to all , not just school kids. Somehow or other the US must adopt public transport (transit).
We live in a village over four miles from my children's secondary school and they had to catch the bus at 7.30am. It was that early as it trundled round neighbouring villages picking up children from here and there. I imagined my sons would be enjoying a social life with their friends, but in later years I asked one what he felt about that early start, thinking he would say they had fun. He said he particularly liked it when the bus reached the hill escarpment and the sun was shining over the the mist filled valley, with the silver stretch of the river glistening in the distance.
@@Lily-Bravo Thank you for response. And very pleased that your son has one happy memory of his journey to school. I traveled by public London bus to school every day. After travelling in the same bus for years with a young lady (but never talking), she went to an all girl school and I went to an all boys school just down the road , so we were alien creatures. After years, at about the age of 15 I decided I was in love with her and needed to talk. Needless to say it didn’t work out.
We sung in assembly in the 1970s / 80's All schools did , not just religious , we also got cained and slippered ,we always mucked about during assembly , farting , laughing and stabbing each other with pencils ..
I am a child of the 70s and yes we behaved well. This video is very similar to our school life . We even had a strap as punishment for misbehaviour so that I suppose stopped us from being naughty. Also we were terrified of our parents finding out we had got into trouble at school. Almost all of us walked to and from school. It was a short journey. Can’t believe how quickly things have changed
Here in New Zealand school uniforms are typically only for Intermediate & High school student's, Primary (Elementary) school students & senior year High school students usually can wear whatever they like. Interval/morning tea (first break) is usually anwhere from 30 - 40 minutes, and lunch (second break) is anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour. Many school students will walk to & from school, though many will also be driven by either their parents, school busses, or possibly even regular public transit busses.
I'm only a couple of minutes in, just got to registration, and already I'm finding it so sickly sweet. We never addressed the teachers by name. Teacher would call out our full name, (nothing else. They wouldn't say "Morning"), and we would respond with "Here", or "Sir" or "Miss".
Kids take the normal buses to get home. In the countryside, there ARE a few routes which run only on schooldays, but normal adult passengers can usually use the same bus. Some of those routes are really picturesque taking you through places where few tourists know to explore, but you have to check you can get back afterwards or you could well find yourself staying overnight on a local farm
Having a uniform does not mean there is no bullying, you can still get bullied for what shoes, coat hairstyle, backpack you have etc. all a uniform does is take the decision of what to wear out of your hands as every kid has to wear one. Not all school kids wear blazers, most just have a jumper instead. All schools sing hymns in assembly and not just Catholic schools. Im from the UK snd trust me no school is really like this, looks scripted ti show off the school. Halloween originated in Ireland then went around to the rest of the uk, then when irish people imigrated to America way back when, they took the Halloween tradition with them and that's how America got Halloween, you didn't invent it lol. 😂
