My secondary school did. I was thinking about them yesterday. There were two single mobiles on opposite sides of the main buildings and a thrilling double one near to one of the single ones. My first science lessons were in the solitary single one, I think it had gas taps and everything. It was proper grim. I did German in the other single mobile. My Year 8 form room was temporarily in the right hand half of the double mobile. They all had those old non-moving blackboards stuck on the wall.

I feel both nostalgic and sick thinking about this subject.

Bonus generic images:

We had two, in my primary school, both near the school gates. I still remember the clomping sound your feet made when you walked around inside them.

We had a temporary ones that were there for at least 5 years after I'd left

In fact....




Actually, I don't think that's the same one, it looks posher than the one I remember.

Every school Portakabin I've ever had classes in or taught in has been demolished forever.

In fact, there's yet another advert on telly with the school I taught in for 6 years and it's noticeable (albeit briefly and to someone who knows what the school looks like) that the "art shed" is no more.

Still, it's a minor crime in the grand scheme of things compared to the binning of my mega-mosaic.

I've got lots of pictures knocking about in my e-archives.

I might dig some out if I can get over the (genuine) grief.

The Call of the Wendigo wrote:

We had two, in my primary school, both near the school gates. I still remember the clomping sound your feet made when you walked around inside them.

Yes, they seemed really hollow and bouncy - the sound of heavy rain on the roof was loud too!

That's just reminded me, one was built during my last year of primary school, right outside the window of my then classroom so we could watch its construction. I remember the tarring of the roof and that unique smell. I also remember having to take a letter to the teacher in there and the feeling of walking into a new mobile was like sitting in a new car for the first time - everything was brand new and clean, if a little basic. But it got built on the official school garden.

That was circa 1990/91 and looking at it on Google satellite it has now gone, as have the ones at my secondary school. But then those ones seemed ancient when I was there.

There were two demountables at my infant school. Our class occupied the left-hand one. They backed on to the electricity substation, divided by a ditch which we were strictly forbidden to enter (and duly entered).

Our junior school also had two and in my third year we were in the right-hand one. It supposedly had rats living underneath it.

At secondary school there were three, and in the first year we were in the one nearest the school. I remember many unhappy hours that winter looking out of the window at the bare branches against the sky, wishing I'd gone to the other secondary school with all my friends.

I do apologise if this is bringing back rather grim memories. Some interesting memories though.

Fangirl Three wrote:

There were two demountables at my infant school.

I haven't heard them called "demountables" before. They were always "mobiles" at my school. I guess each school or area had their own names for them.

I think we just called them huts.

We called them Wendy houses.

Like NJ I knew them as huts.

I spent a term in one due to a fire. A kid went blind from running across the floor with a compass - the sharp bit went through his eyeball when he fell on it.

I was later injured when part of the roof fell in on the desk with the giant headphones attached to radios. My hip still hurts in cold temperatures.

During 'wet weather' a broken umbrella was provided to get over to the toilets in the building. We were allowed to keep our coats and gloves on during class.

Yeah, great memories. Such was life in Thatchers Britain.

Was anyone else subject to corporal punishment despite it having been made illegal? I think they must've allowed teachers coming up to retirement to just continue doing their thing. Whatever implement was previously used was removed but creative use was made of rulers, belts, dusters, shoes, and your own tie.

I didn't get all of those I hasten to add - I was only ever hit on the head by a duster thrown in my direction (for talking in class) and strangled with my tie (for talking in class).

I went looking for possible pictures of the HPS 'huts' (located by the D&T block at the far end of the North Playground) and found a blog by a middle-aged man/kid I knew at school (very very well) about HPS (and various other things) and he's been posting pictures of people I know for years.

And lying and exaggerating so much about stuff that happened back then it actually upset me.

There were a number of 'anecdotes' that mixed up various events I was present at and was involved in and that he MOST CERTAINLY WASN'T PRESENT AT.

Not only that, but I'm not actually sure he was at HPS at that time.

In fairness though, he was even then a pathological liar and proper high-functioning psychopath, so I shouldn't've'd've' been surprised.

I don't remember them at high school?

cosmictanya wrote:

Was anyone else subject to corporal punishment despite it having been made illegal? I think they must've allowed teachers coming up to retirement to just continue doing their thing. Whatever implement was previously used was removed but creative use was made of rulers, belts, dusters, shoes, and your own tie.

I didn't get all of those I hasten to add - I was only ever hit on the head by a duster thrown in my direction (for talking in class) and strangled with my tie (for talking in class).

I think one of my brother's classmates (who he hated) had a chair thrown at him by the teacher. That'd have been in the mid to late 80s.

Yeah, chairs I recall being used now you mention it. I also remember a desk being lifted up and slammed repeatedly back down, until it fell to pieces around the victim who still sat his his chair, frozen in shock.

He had to gather up the broken pieces and carry them along to the head teachers office with an apology that his behaviour had led to the destruction of school property.

This is another thread, Shirley?

Oh I'm sorry. I've already deleted a post due to it not being about orange people. It was just a tangent while discussing primary schools. Seemed kind of relevant.