From the smell of the banda sheets that teachers printed off to use in their lesson, with their lilac writing, to the sight of a video recorder being wheeled into the classroom to show a film, there are things that sum up that time in the city’s schools.
We have put together a gallery of 16 pictures to sum up that period in our schools, photos that if you were at school in the 70s or the 80s you will instantly recognise.
The include those Sheffield Council exercise books and certificates we were all given as youngsters.
There were no interactive white boards, like youngsters get in today’s classrooms. Instead, the teachers had to manage with a blackboard, with the more sophisticated ones having a long roll of rubber ‘board’, attached to rollers at the top and bottom, allowing them to move parts of the board up and over the top.
The smell of chalk permeated the air, and there was always one youngster who would bash the ‘board rubber’ against a desk to create a choking cloud of smoke before the teacher came in.
If you were lucky, you may have been shown something on an overhead projector, shining words or pictures onto a screen, or just a wall, for the children to see.
No one had to have their mobile phone switched off. They were years away. If you needed to call home, you had to use a coin operated phone, dropping the coin in when someone answered, or get the school office to call if it was really important.
We’ve also found pictures of school dinners, bringing back memories of the pastel coloured plates, and the items on the menu, like the jellies in square white pots.
Have a look through the 16 pictures in the gallery below. If you have any pictures from your school days you’d like to see in The Star, email [email protected]
1. Sheffield schools in the 70s and 80s
You'll remember these 16 things if you went to school in Sheffield in the 70s or 80s. Photo: Picture Sheffield / National World | Picture Sheffield / National World Photo: Picture Sheffield / National World
2. Mobile buildings
A staple of all schools from the 70s to the 80s, mobile buildings like this were used for many lessons. Cold in winter, they had a bouncy feel as you walked about the floors, and precious little protection against noise. The buildings in the picture were Park Hill Primary School, Duke Street. Photo: Sheffield Council, Picture Sheffield Photo: Picture Sheffield
3. Exercise book
This was a familiar sight to everyone at school in Sheffield in the 70s and 80s -- the Sheffield Council-issue exercise book we all had for each subject. Many teachers insisted you covered them with paper to protect them, leading to some pretty colourful sights. Photo: Submitted
4. Classroom coach
The Sheffield Education Department mobile classroom coach. Here it is parked on Jenkin Road, Wincobank in the 70s. Photo: Sheffield Council / Picture Sheffield | Sheffield Council, Picture Sheffield Photo: Sheffield Council, Picture Sheffield