Listeners:
Top listeners:
play_arrow
Atom Radio
play_arrow
Best of Brakfast Episode 174 Yana Bolder
For anyone who went to school in the 80s and 90s, it really was a different world. No smartphones, no Google, and definitely no group chats to help with homework. Just chalkboards, packed lunches, and a whole set of experiences that today’s students would barely recognise.
Here’s a proper throwback to school life that only Gen X will truly remember.
The Sound of the School Bell
That loud, echoing bell that signalled the start of lessons, break time, and the end of the day. You didn’t need a watch. Your entire routine was ruled by that sound.
Chalkboards and Overhead Projectors
Before smartboards, there was chalk. Teachers would fill the board, turn around covered in white dust, and carry on like nothing happened.
Then came the overhead projector. Sheets of acetates, handwritten notes, and that satisfying flick as the teacher changed the page.
BBC Micro and Computer Class
IT lessons meant computers like the BBC Micro. Loading a game or program could take ages, often involving cassette tapes and a lot of patience.
When it finally worked, it felt like a win.
The Packed Lunch vs School Dinners Debate
Lunch was serious business. Did you have a packed lunch in a plastic box, or brave the school dinners?
From square pizza slices to custard with everything, school meals were… memorable, let’s say.
The PE Kit You Forgot (and the Panic That Followed)
Forgetting your PE kit was a nightmare. It usually meant doing the lesson in borrowed kit or, worse, something from lost property.
Either way, it wasn’t a good day.
Exercise Books and Handwriting Practice
No laptops. Everything was written by hand in exercise books. Crossing things out, rewriting, and trying to keep your handwriting neat enough to avoid comments from the teacher.
Playground Games
Break time meant being outside. Football, skipping, British Bulldog, and endless games that somehow everyone knew the rules to.
No screens, just running around until the bell went again.
The TV Trolley Moment
One of the best surprises. The TV being wheeled into the classroom. It meant one thing… a video or educational programme and a slightly easier lesson.
Instant excitement.
Why It Still Sticks With Us
School life back then wasn’t perfect, but it was simple, shared, and full of moments that stuck.
It’s not just nostalgia. It’s the feeling of a time when life was less complicated, friendships were face-to-face, and the biggest worry was whether you’d done your homework.
What Do You Remember Most?
Was it the lessons, the teachers, or the playground? Whatever it was, those school days probably left you with stories you still tell today.
A man convicted of killing his abused wife after she jumped from a motorway bridge has been jailed for eight years. Kimberly Milne died aged twenty eight after being struck by multiple vehicles on the A90 in Dundee in July twenty twenty three. Lee Milne, aged forty, was found guilty of culpable homicide and domestic abuse. Police said she was clearly terrified and acted to escape him. The European Union’s […]
