American reacts to A Day in a British School

[@margaretknight8690]

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!

[@ruthholbrook]

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.

[@samd2660]

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.

[@sallyannwheeler6327]

Rather? I’d say a tad more than rather

[@connie3632]

It was lovely what a fabulous example.

[@aksileb]

It’s an educational video for ESL lessons

[@Aureus_]

It should be noted this is primary school in the 2000s

[@johnchamber5962]

And by the song they're singing, most likely a church of England school.

[@babalonkie]

@@johnchamber5962 Yup... not a typical and more common "Public/state School". At most you would sing for a event (Christmas, Easter or something similar).

[@jules.8443]

Our Primary is their Elementary.

[@jismy012]

he should watch educating tv show

[@andybaker2456]

​@@johnchamber5962My primary school wasn't C of E, yet we sang hymns in assembly.

[@lioness76071]

Watch the ‘Educating …’ series. Educating Greater Manchester, as an example.

[@KatieRae_AmidCrisis]

Yesssss. Came here to say this!

[@Neil457]

@@lioness76071 they were intriguing and some of the pupil’s they focused on were interesting characters

[@yodaami]

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.

[@janolaful]

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

[@drydryb0nesshorts]

Educating Yorkshire is my favourite

[@katehobbs2008]

In Australia all schools wear a uniform. Helps stop kids judging one another based on how much their clothes cost.

[@StephenWhittaker-g5g]

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.

[@PedroConejo1939]

@@StephenWhittaker-g5g 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.

[@graceperry2623]

@@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.

[@annieparker3107]

And we have lollipop ladies too

[@andybaker2456]

@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.

[@rb9580]

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.

[@andybaker2456]

@@rb9580 That explains a lot. It was not what a school in Walthamstow would have been like in my day! 😆

[@andybaker2456]

@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.

[@Phiyedough]

We sang hymns back in my day but I thought that was not usual these days in normal council run schools.

[@aidencox790]

@@Phiyedough SANG HYMS IN MORNING HALL TOO. WE WERE A CHRISTIAN NATION. AND WE STILL ARE, BUT TOLERANT.

[@cyflym11]

Well this video is clearly scripted. The kids have been told to learn their lines and behave!

[@deirdrewalsh4177]

I’ve worked in primary and secondary schools and we sing a lot, also dance and put on theatrical performances regularly.

[@essmac3453]

Yup, that pretty much sums it up. Bought back memories. We didn't sing at lunch though.

[@JayKughan]

That's literally the purpose of uniforms. It's so kids are viewed as equals.

[@mademoiselledusfonctionell1609]

With the added benefit of making "I have nothing to wear" discussion (as in "I don't know what to wear") each and every morning superfluous.

[@danielferguson3784]

@@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]

@@danielferguson3784- forgive me for asking but aren’t there designated uniform stores?

[@danielferguson3784]

@@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.

[@iagreewithyou749]

I thought it's just to always look neat and tidy, for school. Plus to also represent your school.

[@helenwood8482]

Hate to break it to you, but Hallowe'en started in the British Isles and is a major religious festival for druids like me.

[@leohickey4953]

It seems a little early to wish you a happy Samhain, but I'll do it anyway. Happy Samhain.

[@alejandrayalanbowman367]

It also had nothing to do with pumpkin carving nor trick or treat.

[@solaccursio]

@@leohickey4953 early or not, blessed Samhain to all of you ❤

[@B-A-L]

Oh come on, when has America ever celebrated the true meaning of any religious festival? Ask any American what Christmas is about and they'll say it's about Santa and Easter is about a rabbit!

[@solaccursio]

@@B-A-L well, the rabbit (and its fecundity) is a symbol of the spring goddess Ostara or Eostre (=Easter) so technically they are absolutely right :)

[@TukikoTroy]

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.

[@jules.8443]

You could tell it was rehearsed by the way they were pausing slightly in their sentences. They didn't flow.

[@helenwood8482]

A good school isn't rowdy.

[@carolineskipper6976]

It's actually a Private Day School - so the kids featured could be any age, as the school goes up to 18 years old.

[@TukikoTroy]

@@carolineskipper6976 TY for that.

[@desperadox7565]

Not my class.🤣

[@chrishawkins3376]

I would think this is a Church of England school. I used to walk about 2.5 miles each way every day, no matter what the weather!

[@jules.8443]

The children on their lunch in the canteen weren't singing. It was the video creator who added it.

[@desperadox7565]

Would be difficult to sing with a full mouth.

[@letitiakearney2423]

@@desperadox7565he’s not really that intelligent to be commenting on videos as he never understands anything and shows his ignorance. 😂

[@jules.8443]

@@desperadox7565 We can all see they are eating, so why would he think they are singing. And not one of them sounding muffled.

[@nightowl5395]

@@jules.8443 yes... 😅

[@sarahjf69]

This is so staged it's cringe!! It shows a basic school routine, but it's not particularly true to life.

[@leehallam9365]

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.

[@maxsmum3561]

You should review ‘educating Yorkshire’, or any of the other ‘educating’ series and you will see what school is really like in the UK (and around the world)

[@zo7034]

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.

[@margaretoconnor3687]

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.🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🇬🇧

[@richardshaw1968]

@@margaretoconnor3687 nice to hear these modern grammar schools kept up with traditional ones.

[@aidencox790]

@@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?

[@ronuss]

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

[@nickhickson8738]

At least you weren't shot but today you could be stabbed in the UK.

[@lorrainewhitehead9080]

⁠@@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.

[@nickhickson8738]

@@lorrainewhitehead9080 What's bias got to do with it? There are more stabbings nowadays in the UK than shootings.

[@matt-fh6hb]

@@nickhickson8738 I don’t think you understand ‘per capita’ here.

[@JoannaHammond]

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

[@mattgames7543]

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.

[@desperadox7565]

Same in Europe/US.🌍🌎🌏 But when school started at 8.00, I was in the building at 7.59.😎

[@moondaughter1004]

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

[@wildadventure5101]

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.

[@johnchamber5962]

You should give educating yorkshire a watch

[@valeriewalker3886]

Yes that would give you a proper picture of what schools are like over here.

[@niknax25]

Aww aye thats a great program.. Some of they wee guys made me laugh

[@vallejomach6721]

'...shaved all me eyebrows off'

[@danielferguson3784]

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.

[@peterjackson4763]

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.

[@jasminedean-ye2bp]

if you where in school in the 60s doesnt that make you like 70

[@danielferguson3784]

@@jasminedean-ye2bp Yes, I'm 70+ so what's your point?

[@alejandrayalanbowman367]

@@jasminedean-ye2bp what of it? I'm 83 and started school just as WW2 ended!

[@jasminedean-ye2bp]

@@danielferguson3784 i was not saying that it is bad.

[@VillaFanDan92]

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 😂

[@turquoiseragdoll]

I'm not British, but in my school not only did we have to sing, but we would also have compulsory dance lessons.

[@moondaughter1004]

Same. We sometimes had dance classes during P.E

[@sharonwelsh8102]

I'm British we sang and did country dancing too

[@SiobhanHfuhruhurr-qe1ul]

Did youz have to dance in your vest and knickers as well 😳😭🤣

[@wildadventure5101]

@@sharonwelsh8102 I also did some may pole dancing until the pole broke in half. Then switched to some old types of dancing.

[@gdok6088]

@@SiobhanHfuhruhurr-qe1ul The girls did - in navy blue knickers, like granny pants! But we were 7 -11

[@helenwood8482]

Some kids catch a normal bus to school, but school buses are an American thing.

[@wildadventure5101]

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.

[@evelynwilson1566]

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.

[@evelynwilson1566]

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.

[@wildadventure5101]

@@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.

[@jerry2357]

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.

[@t.a.k.palfrey3882]

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.

[@PedroConejo1939]

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.

[@carolineskipper6976]

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]

No separation of church and state?

[@PedroConejo1939]

@@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.

[@charleshedley4381]

​@@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.

[@deankeith2507]

you notice ...no security guards ,no metal detectors no worshiping a old rag either

[@janetcurr-ks1gd]

Definitely a Church of England School. Mushy peas are delicious with fish and chips. The music was edited in for the film.

[@jules.8443]

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.

[@rustyknight1572]

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!

[@serenabrent8832]

Love fish and chips with mushy peas.🙂

[@KatieRae_AmidCrisis]

Mushy peas are a god-tier side. Fish and chips is not complete without.

[@B-A-L]

Ordinary people just buy a tin of them instead!

[@jules.8443]

The song is making fun of their lunches, not complimenting them.

[@SideQ-rr6my]

The Inbetweeners series is actually an accurate portrayal of secondary (high) schools in the UK

[@barriehull7076]

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".

[@peterjackson4763]

Surely it ends "came down and paid for a pint all round"

[@juliajoyce4535]

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.

[@Ukhome-s4p]

This was how children behaved in the 50s and 60s well behaved

[@IvyJames-ru4vj]

That's a lie

[@Ukhome-s4p]

@@IvyJames-ru4vj not at my school it wasn’t. We were very well behaved

[@Ukhome-s4p]

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.

[@aidencox790]

@@Ukhome-s4p MINE TOO. WE WERE TAUGHT GOOD MANNERS FROM DAY ONE. THAT DEVELOPS INTO GOOD CHARACTER. THERE ARE TWITS EVERYWHERE OF COURSE.

[@annamae859]

I went to school in the 60s and I call BS!

[@Ollerecovery]

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.

[@kristymac3236]

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.

[@lalunacee9168]

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.

[@markthomas2577]

Gosh ...... that 'mushy peas, soggy semolina' song ..... I remember singing that in the 1950s but in the playground not in the dining hall.

[@MrGrahawk]

This video seems to have slipped through a hole in the space time continuum from an alternative reality.

[@nickhickson8738]

From the 50s/60s more likely when people behaved themselves.

[@matt-fh6hb]

It reminded me so much of my state school in the 80’s. It felt like stepping back in time.

[@davefinch316]

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

[@sandrabutler8483]

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.

[@Jeni10]

If UK is the same as Australia, each child lives in the area within walking distance of the school. We have schools every few kilometres.

[@yodaami]

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.

[@B-A-L]

Still doesn't stop the lazy little buggers being driven there by their parents!

[@williambailey344]

Please note there isn't any security guards or ang security at all.

[@brontewcat]

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

[@stephenmann7374]

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.

[@CamcorderSteve]

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.

[@Neil457]

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)

[@jules.8443]

Walkers Cheese & Onion crisps (chips to you), are great in a sandwich.

[@leehallam9365]

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.

[@Mrs.Cadoux]

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

[@Lily-Bravo]

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")

[@susyward581]

Back when I was at school (not a religious school) we always started the day with a message from the head and a chance to consider an event that might be happening around the world or locally. a reading from the bible and singing two or three hymns. We all sat on the floor cross legged boys on one side, girls on the other. Mushy peas, Northern caviar 😂

[@colinbirks5403]

We don't do school buses. Public transport (buses) are perfectly adequate.

[@stevieinselby]

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.

[@colinbirks5403]

@@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.

[@AliceGison]

In rural areas their are school buses

[@flawedgenius]

Some schools do, our local catholic school had some buses.

[@johnp8131]

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.

[@gsf5882]

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.

[@stevieinselby]

Forest School is a private school. You could spend all day walking round Walthamstow without hearing a single person who sounds a posh as those kids.

[@annamae859]

This film is 90s/2000s and this is an independent fee paying School, so noy a typical British school day at all.

[@fpldan9594]

Watch the Educating Yorkshire or Greater Manchester series to get an idea of what the Secondary schools (ages 11-16) are like.

[@sharonalexander4327]

What do you mean, do we celebrate Halloween? We pretty much started it, it's a celtic festival. Here in Scotland kids would originally carved a turnip lantern(swede) and chapped doors asking if "you wanted any guisers" not pumpkins and say " Happy Halloween, trick or treat" (this gutted me by the way) this all started more with the unfortunate influence in the 80s/90s after watching too much American TV.

[@carolfletcher9939]

Is he for real??? I mean, why do Americans always think the world revolves around them? So annoying!

[@johnnyuk3365]

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).

[@Lily-Bravo]

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.

[@johnnyuk3365]

@@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.

[@bugs7139]

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.

[@Burglar-King]

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. 😂

[@Phiyedough]

I went to one of those schools and any good teachers didn't stay long, so we mainly had the dregs who couldn't get a better job.

[@christinestromberg4057]

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.

[@JohnResalb]

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

[@lisamaxton106]

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!

[@axspike]

And no zig-zagging or assault rifles in sight.

[@UwU_for_Christ]

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.

[@bananenmusli2769]

This is giving me flashbacks to English class in 5th and 6th grade in Germany. This is what they taught us about British schools.

[@johnwilletts3984]

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.

[@chansetwo]

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

[@kristinesharp6286]

@@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.

[@chansetwo]

@@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.

[@kristinesharp6286]

@@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?

[@chansetwo]

@@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.

[@EmilyCheetham]

When I was in secondary school (age 11-16) my school day started with registration at 8:30am and then lessons started at 8:40am. There were 2 lessons & then 10:40 till 11:00 was morning break. There were then another 2 lesson before lunch which was 1pm-2pm. Then there was either a second 15minute registration OR once a month there was assembly in the hall. Then from 2:15-3:15 was the final lesson on the day. In my school the timetable was organised as a 2 week rotating rota so you always knew what lessons you had & when. Mandatory ones were- PE (physe Ed), RE (religious Ed- although parents could opt their kids out in certain instances however no one in my school did), science, math, English, ICT, French (although I was excused due to learning difficulties). Then there were fun classes like art & technology also called DT.

[@MrKdog87]

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.

[@barbaraconiam5321]

Singing morning assembly is always been it's a lovely thing we teach good manners in school teach children early about respect a fine thing uk

[@wessexdruid7598]

_"Is this Harry Potter?"_ What do you think Harry Potter was based on?

[@hayleyelliott7905]

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.

[@DarkMoonEmporium]

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.

[@leohickey4953]

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).

[@karentaylor5983]

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.

[@catshez]

😂😂 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 😱🤣

[@matt-fh6hb]

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.

[@helgaioannidis9365]

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.

[@missprimproper1022]

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.

[@brontewcat]

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

[@maxsmum3561]

School starts at 9am in Australia, or thereabouts…why would you drag kids out to start at 7? Omg…Aussie kids are more relaxed about clothes too. Free dress days are mainly hoodies, trakkie pants, runners…just comfy stuff (I have been a secondary school teacher for 25 years)…

[@graziellaacquarola7450]

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 🇮🇹...❤❤❤❤❤

[@KrisHughes]

I agree about school uniforms being a leveller, and it also teaches kids how to wear the kind of clothes they might be required to wear at work when they grow up. (Is that good? bad? IDK) However, there are plenty of ways to 'style up' school uniforms which subtly signal economic status, or attitude to authority, etc. Mushy peas are the UK's answer to refried beans. They are delicious.

[@declanrussell2232]

Think you might want to have a look at the origins of halloween.

[@robcrossgrove7927]

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.

[@jetteramsey9292]

A Dane here,when I went to school we would sing some songs to start the day not religious very similar.thanks Ryan!

[@alisonramsay5091]

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.

[@weejackrussell]

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.

[@clairedavison5607]

We always sang hymns in our Secondary school as well as our Primary Schools, old hymns and carols but that was back in the 70s and early 80s.

[@LesleyB-us5sg]

I went to a Comprehensive school in the 70's, not religious but we did sing a hymn in assembly, by the time my kids went there, they had mixed faith assemblies. We walked over 3 miles to school, now it seems every kid gets a lift!

[@irene3196]

My primary school was lovely. Secondary school was hell on earth.

[@stephaniegillette1101]

This is very much like my primary school, except we had registration, assembly, 2 lessons, break, 2 lessons, lunch, 2 lessons and then home time. Yes, nearly everybody walked home from school. Unless you go to a catholic or other religious school, ALL assemblies are very christian based. So we sang hymns, had a talk from either the head teacher or sometimes the village vicar would lead the assembly and it would always end with collectively reciting the Lords Prayer. Lunches, after the Jamie Oliver campaign were incredibly healthy (goodbye beautiful turkey twizzlers), you either had cooked school lunches or you took a packed lunch. The school and LEA were even strict about what you could bring for lunch in your packed lunch. All three primary schools I went to started at 8 o’clock and finished at 3pm, but most students didn’t go home home straight away as you had after school clubs, for me these were Field Hockey, Football (Soccer), Tag Rugby, Chess, Choir, Music, Latin and Maths-Olympians. Some students went to school early for Breakfast Club too. So this video is pretty accurate from late 90’s/early 00’s. However secondary school was a lot different. Also yes we had to be as polite as that too. It was only secondary school where you might get a few more toerags, but still polite and respectful.

[@missprimproper1022]

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.

[@helenag.9386]

We STARTED HALLOWEEN! DRUIDS? NOT STUPID TRICK OR TREAT - LOOK INTO THE ORIGINS OF HALLOWEEN!

[@carolfletcher9939]

And it's hAlloween and not hOlloween ffs

[@helenag.9386]

Sadly Ryan proves the fact that Americans are insular, arrogant and stupid!

[@airs1234]

That was similar to my primary school.

[@karrywright9359]

Very similar to my school in the 80’s, I would imagine it’s changed quite a bit since then.

[@janehenry3206]

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'.

[@veronikataf5206]

A celebrity chef called Jamie Oliver has worked hard to improve the diet of school children. In Australia our schools dont supply lunch you are expected to bring your lunch in a paper bag but you can buy food at a canteen run by the mothers on a roster.

[@EmilyCheetham]

It’s mostly primary schools (age 5-11 years) that have singing. I remember singing things like kumbaya, He’s got the whole world in his hands & give me oil in my lamp.

[@emmahowells8334]

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. 😂

[@carolfletcher9939]

Spot on!!!!

[@Lily_The_Pink972]

You should watch award winning teacher Karen Birbalsingh. She takes no nonsense in her school. Inspirational woman.

[@lindaadams4831]

Children are expected to walk to school if they live up to about 3 miles away or more. After that they can get help with the cost of public transport ...bus or train maybe if needed.