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I quite enjoyed my school years, I loved English(language and literature), I liked Maths until we reached the advanced Algebra and Trigonometry stage .... then everything started to become a blur I enjoyed Geography but was hopeless at remembering dates in History and who did what and when. Chemistry and Biology were both interesting and held my attention but I'm afraid I found Physics to be a complete bore Languages was a favourite, I took French and Latin rather than French and German.

Music was a subject I never looked forward to, Art I enjoyed, my favourite lesson though was Home Economics.

I enjoyed PE and Sports, was in the school hockey and girl's cricket team.

Happy days for me!

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My favourite subject was History and we did social and economic history rather than kings and queens etc which I found much more interesting as it shapes what we have today in many respects. I also liked English and Maths. We didn't do any science subjects apart from biology. It was an all girls school and it wasn't considered necessary. I hated Art and Latin and gave them up as soon as I could. I could never understand why a dead language was taught and I never will. Complete waste of time. I was averagely good at most subjects and usually came second in the class overall. One girl always pipped me to the first spot I liked some sport and hated others. Hated lacrosse and athletics and gymnastics but liked netball and rounders and tennis.

All in all I didn't mind school but I don't think they were the best days of my life as some people think they are.

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Loved English and drama..
Its important to have an interesting teacher to make a subject engaging..I found English and drama teachers to be the most interesting...

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I still keep in touch with my geography teacher who is in her late 80s. She was strict but knew her subject and imparted it well. When I reached 60, three years ago, she gave me permission to call her by her first name as, "We are both OAP's now!" I am fond of her and phone her every few weeks to check on her. I visit her on my infrequent visits home. I still feel like the schoolgirl in her presence, and feel I should sit up straight, and put my hand up!

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I enjoyed English lit, and like Mags enjoyed maths until algebra etc.,
Liked chemistry, biology, domestic science, sewing and my favourite was art. Always helped with school plays, painting scenery and making costumes.
Didn't like PE - hated netball but liked hockey and rounders.
Was bored by and so hated RI and languages.
Yes Pats, interesting teachers make interested pupils.

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I too had an English teacher - Irish - who was fab, strict, but absolutely enthralling, could she tell a story, the Irish 'gift of the gab'...She taught my Mother and then her children !

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At my elementary school (4-14) as it was when I started in 1954, the head teacher, a sadist had been a pupil teacher at the school when my grandfather was a pupil. He was the head when my father was a pupil in the late 20s/30s. The evil so and so got a thrill from beating the children from less fortunate homes than mine with a stick, not a cane! He actually beat one lad unconscious, and managed to get away with it! I was glad when I was moved to my private school for my secondary education.

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None I hated school with a passion and wanted to be out roaming the fields .
My worst subject was maths having been made to kneel on the floor and smacked on the head every lesson

Apparently I was quite good at English and Music and won I all the cookery prizes...

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I too had a sadist teacher at my school Willow darlin'. His name was Sykes and since our class reader one year was Oliver Twist he got his nickname of Bill Sykes. He was never one to stand at the front of the class and 'talk and chalk', but would dictate his lesson whilst constantly walking around. He carried three old pennies in between his knuckles and if he thought you weren't paying attention to him he would rap you on the top of your head with these pennies - if it hit hard enough he would draw blood.

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One of the other teachers, who had been an Army PE instructer during WW2 took one of the 14 year old boys, who had done something to displease him, into the playground and had a fight with him using boxing gloves. The boy came off the worst! That same teacher had a horticultural business and often during the busy season would set us work to do and leave the class to attend to his business!

By the time I was about ten the school was dragged into the 20th century; it had very 19th century ideals when I started, including the slates and primers! It became a proper primary school (4-11) and the new teaching staff were less like those out of a Dickens novel!