H block was the school gym. Two doors labelled “boys” and girls” were clear. The changing rooms in these were typical of the period and also had showers, as were the two gymnasiums. Panelled wall bars and bench mats with pull out ropes, and a ladder that could slide out across the surface area with the pull of another rope and then be refiled again in the same way with a pull in the opposite direction. Who didn’t get rope burns at some point, the wear of hands and broken skin. Basketball hoops at either end and a marked out 5 a side pitch. But the dust on the wooden floors.
The outside of the gyms took heavy punishment from balls being kicked against them. The flat roof would also mean that many ended up on here, and so it was not uncommon for some unscripted and unsanctioned climbing activity to take place. Large windows let in a great deal of light but didn’t stop the place feeling like a sauna.
The rear of the building behind G block met a walkway that formed a slope up to the level of F block in front of it.
Always something going on in or around here, the gyms were a fun place to be for double games. Despite the bruises, the risks were worth it.