(30 Mar 2015, 8:39 pm)theblackwatch wrote When I was in 4th & 5th year (none of this year 10 and 11 nonsense back then!), we had a choice with what we did in PE each week. I was rubbish at sport and didn't like it, and chose swimming as an option. We didn't have a pool at our school, so one of the teachers would take those of us who had chosen it to the local council pool in the school minibus - a Freight Rover Sherpa (I think it's reg was B226UUM - how the hell can I remember that) with a couple of inward facing bench seats, no seatbelts, but none of us died... We'd get dropped off at the baths then picked up an hour later - somehow I can't imagine that being allowed nowadays!
We had the same kind of choices in the 4th and 5th year for P.E. (like you none of this year 10 and 11 nonsense was applicable) except we were trusted to make our own way down to the pool in Blaydon. We also had the choice of going bowling at the Metrocentre which usually involved walking down to Blaydon and hopping on the 602. I don't know why we did this - the M5 stopped right outside of school - perhaps it had something to do with bus times even though I'm fairly sure the M5 was due as we left.