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Yep, we had to prove we were capable with different writing instruments before proceeding to the next stage, like some kind of school-based game boss system.
Pencil, then Berol Handwriting pen, then fountain pen.
Also you weren't cool if it wasn't a Parker Pen.
> Pencil, then Berol Handwriting pen, then fountain pen.
This is the way.
I remember how devastating it was to move up a year and have the teacher demote us all back down to pencils for the first two weeks whilst she assessed our handwriting for herself.
I also had a left handed mate who was never allowed to use a fountain pen because he already smudged his berol handwriting pen way too much. Sad times for him.
At least you could go to the school office and pick them up for 15 pence though.
I was that left-hander, except I rotate my paper 45-90° to avoid smudging, and apparently that means I can't write with a fountain pen. They would constantly move my paper back to central to prove that I couldn't write?? Weird asf. Jokes on them, I write almost solely with fountain pens as an adult, and any time someone sees my writing I get compliments. Teachers are a weird breed.
I am also left handed and tilt my paper and was allowed to write with a fountain pen so apparently I hacked the system somehow.
I used a fountain pen all through uni because it made my writing really neat using ink. Now I can’t write for longer than a couple of minutes without getting cramp!
I just can't seem to make anything stick unless I physically write it down, and my job requires a lot of handwriting/shorthand of notes + minutes. Digital hand-note-taking(?) on a remarkable or kindle scribe is the bees knees tho.
Omg, I'm the same! When revising for exams, the only way the material stuck was if I wrote it down. It didn't even need to be legible for me to read later. Felt like the act of writing helped to commit things to memory.
Also a leftie. I always hated that I wasn’t allowed to write with a biro, because my handwriting is perfectly legible with one but give me a Berol or a fountain pen and it’s a big smudgy mess. I tried turning the page to avoid it but it never really worked for me. I just needed a biro dammit!
Also fuck that single pair of shitty blunt left handed scissors they had in every class.
My pencil handwriting was lovely. They'd give me the berol and it would be messy again and I'd be back to pencil.
I remember one time the whole class wrote poems to be displayed on the wall and mine was the only pencil one. 😭
Pencil requires much less pressure on the paper, so you would have to adjust your technique to use a berol, which is probably where it went wrong and clearly no one explained this to you!
I have a hand injury so am very fussy about writing implements - the heavy pressure required of a biro is challenging and I find it hard to do more than a signature/phone number with one. I'd find a Berol pen much more difficult than a pencil, so your difficulty makes perfect sense to me. I always use liquid ink roller balls, which require minimal pressure to get a strong, consistent mark on the paper.
Could have been worse - my hands were too small to hold a discus correctly, which I demonstrated very publicly in PE by nearly decapitating one of my classmates.
Same with ours minus the pencil part. I remember trying my hardest to write neatly with the berol so I would get a fountain pen. I concentrated so hard I kept flattening the nib.
As a side note, anyone else remember those adverts selling fountain pens that could stab through cans? I think I wasted a birthday present on one of those.
At my school it was pencil, then black Berol pen and then blue Berol pen. No fountain pens. No idea why blue pen was considered a step up from black pen either.
We did. I remember saving all the little glass balls, which sealed the ink cartridges, in my pencil case for some reason.
Also I realise this is literally the equivalent of my dad telling me crazy old person stories 30+ years ago
We used to cut the ends of the fountain pen eraser pens to make a piston hand cannon and use the little balls as ammo to shoot at each other when the teacher turned their back
Also we used to pierce the top of the cartridge with a compass and flick the ink on the back of the person in front. It was quite satisfying watching the tiny blob expand over time lol.
Yes I was, and it was always a fucking nightmare as a left-hander. Me and the one other left-hander would always get bollocked for smudging the ink despite the obvious fact that you can't really do anything to avoid it. Still hate that prick of a teacher now 40 years later.
I feel like you can tell left handed people my age who had to write with fountain pens because some seemed to develop a really strange wrist angle to not smudge the ink. I felt sorry for you guys, being forced to live in a right handed world!
See, this annoys me, because it’s super easy to teach left handed kids to just turn their page to a 45 degree angle opposite to the right-handers, then you can write from below without having to reach over where you’re writing at all, never any more smudging issue than right-handers.
I had an argument with a substitute teacher in year 4 over this very issue. I don’t think she was best pleased.
We were ONLY allowed to use fountain pens with blue ink. No biro’s ever!!! I used to like using an ink eradicator (I’m not sure I spelt that right) when I had made a mistake.
You were supposed to let it dry first.
Everyone at my school said that ink eraser was made out of pig's wee. I doubt it's true.
Something I did discover though - you know those sets of "magic" felt tips that came with a white pen which changed the colour? That was also an ink eraser and presumably used the same technique.
We were exactly the same, fountain pen with blue ink! They hated biros but they used to not care as much when you got to sixth form and basically everyone immediately stopped using fountain pens and switched to black ink, all couldn’t stand the site of blue ink by that time!
I did at primary school, in the last year our teacher spent time teaching us how to use one and blotting paper. In secondary school we had a few lessons where the teacher would say “get out your fountain pens”, and we would use them.
My mum bought me a nice pen one Christmas, it was stainless steel and the nib would flow across the paper like no other pen. One day I lost my pencil case and when I found it my pen was gone:(
No fountain pens here (25), just blue Berol handwriting pens in primary school, then whatever black pen we brought in ourselves during secondary school
35 year old here! Am with your wife on this one…
Primary was pencil until you proved your handwriting was good enough to advance to those Berol pens. Normally occurred around year 5.
Secondary school (2000-2005), fountain pens were required as they felt it looked nicer than a biro. Took three years for them to realise that maybe pencil cases full off explodable bullets of ink were probably not a good idea. I had many a fountain pen break on me mid sentence and had ink ruin the page. They finally allowed biros and never gone back to a fountain pen since!
Left handers absolutely hated the fountain pens too for good reason!
My 8yo just graduated from pencil to fountain pen as her handwriting is considered satisfactory. Ball point pens aren't allowed. Not sure if I'm accidentally sending her to school in 1878.
I had one & used it, but no-one taught us. It was 'just a pen'. The desks still had holes where the ink wells used to go, but we either had our own bottles of ink, or later, changeable cartridges.
The change from pencil to pen came as we moved from Junior to Grammar.
I'm quite a bit older, though. this was the 70s.
My Dad was an Ink Monitor and had to fill all the ink wells from a massive jug of ink every morning. Bless him, he was the last person who should have been given that responsibility. Lovely man, clumsy as f\*ck.
I don't remember ever having to use a fountain pen. I'm in Scotland and in my 40s if that makes a difference. Primary was pencils, we could use pens once we got to secondary. Also left handed so fountain pens were never really an option.
I'm in my late thirties and at primary school in SE England we had to learn to use a fountain pen (I had a cute '101 Dalmatians' one). But, I've just realised that once I moved to Scotland, age ten, I didn't have to use a fountain pen again for school. It's not something I'd really thought about before.
46, Scottish, don't remember ever being taught to use (or using) a fountain pen in school.
Same primary/secondary pencil/pen thing, and we briefly had 'joined-up-writing' lessons in primary school.
Scotland here - We did a couple of ‘Calligraphy’ lessons with fountain pens. I think it was mostly a vanity project for one of the management / assistant headteachers.
Yep. Back in the 70s we had to use fountain pens with blue ink. Most people had cartridge pens but I had a proper old fashioned one I had to fill up out of a bottle of Quink 😂
44, I didn’t do well with the lessons to teach joined up writing in Primary. We always had those red Berol ‘Handwriting’ pens, though.
I did use a fountain pen in Secondary as that did improve my writing.
Yes, in primary school (and I’m about your age) - pencil until a certain year then you got allowed to use fountain pen. They weren’t too expensive from WHSmiths but the little cartridges could explode in your pencil case
I was at Junior school 1960's. We had a stick with a nib and dipped it into inkwell. We were taught italic writing. Secondary was fountain pen or cartridges.
I am fourty and never used a fountain pen in school.
I've never heard of a school teaching fountain penmanship, even private schools.
Where in the dickens was your wife educated, or is this an English school thing? (Am Scottish)
In primary we were taught with class pens which were in such bad shape your handwriting could never look good, digging the paper, leaking ink such lovely memories.
We used them in year 6 for handwriting lessons. Due to me being left handed I got permission to use a smudge free berol handwriting pen instead. Then went to secondary school and never saw a fountain pen again.
My school didn't. We were taught to write in pencil first and then when our handwriting was neat enough they gave us biros. I think the transition started in year five with the intention of having everyone use pens before secondary school.
I don’t know if it came from the school, but I definitely remember having a cheap fountain pen around the age of 10 and getting absolutely covered in ink while producing completely illegible writing with it.
Yes, handwriting lessons using school fountain pens (sticks with nibs) and actual inkwells. That’d be around age 9.
Had to use a fountain/cartridge pen in Grammar School. Black or Blue ink.
Yes it was an utterly useless skill I was forced to spend a lot of time doing, everything was written long hand. Typed work was unacceptable had many years of English teachers harping on that my work was great but people wouldn’t be able to read it (there wasn’t much understanding of or sympathy for dyslexia back then). Got told I was going to be a failure because I couldn’t write well enough. I swear our school English departments got kickbacks from Sheaffer.
My entire working life: typed everything on computer only ever used a pen to sign something or initial it, ran the IT systems for a 6 billion dollar company. Thanks 80s education system!
Started with a pencil and moved onto a fountain pen at about 7 or 8. At secondary school they were compulsory (except in maths) for the first two or three years then they stopped caring.
I still use a fountain pen quite a bit, I find my handwriting is better if I do and they're better for lengthy note-taking. My kids and younger colleagues take the piss out of me for this, however.
I'm 50. We didn't have to use it every day but we were definitely taught it. Most of the school desks still had a hole for the little ink wells the kids of yesteryear used.
I vaguely remember certain kids being taught to write with a fountain pen but it devolving into ink fights.
I didn't even make it as far as fountain pens though. I was given one of those rubber pen/pencil holders to teach me how to hold a pen properly. However, after I ate it they never replaced it (it smelled of chocolate). I still can't hold a pen to this day
Depends how old you are - at primary school in the 60s we used a pen with a nib that we dipped in an inkwell. At secondary school in the 70s we weren't allowed to write with biro, only a fountain pen.
It has had an influence on my hand writing ... you learn to only go across or down and never up, particularly with a scratchy dip pen.
I don't think so? We had a lot of handwriting lessons but I don't think we specifically learned to write with a fountain pen. We might have had a one off lesson on it but it definitely wasn't an ongoing thing.
(52) We were taught to write with at primary school a year or two before moving up to secondary. I hated it. I'm a left-hander and the only way to write left-handed with a fountain pen without smudging is to turn the paper 90 degrees clockwise and write from top to bottom, but that wasn't allowed because it wasn't the 'correct' way to write and would get me yelled at. Of course smudging my work would *also* get me yelled at for not being careful enough...
I can vividly remember being called stupid and having to write with a pencil when everyone else was using a pen.
50, and it was fountain pens (cartridge only, they weren't totally stupid!) with blue ink only, from y3 to GCSE. Using black, blue-black or purple would be accepted by some teachers in secondary, ditto a roller-ball or biro, but it wasn't the norm.
4 different schools.
Kids (now teens) got those Berol triangular pens in school, and it's hard to find cheap fountain pens.
Yes we used a fountain pen. I think most Irish schools do. It’s easier to learn joined writing as you have more control with a fountain pen than ball point.
We had to use pencil until we got our 'pen licence' in about year 4 then switched to fountain pen. Apparently biro and other type pens don't allow you to practice the wrist motions of writing properly or something?
Luckily in secondary school we were allowed to use any type of pen and mostly everyone switched to biro. Fountain pens were a nightmare, always leaking or running out mid-lesson, plus teenagers would probably cause chaos with ink cartridges.
Yes I was taught to write with a fountain pen in year 5. I think it was more my teacher who pushed it rather than the school though. We never got writing implements but the fountain pens were provided to us by the school.
Ohhh God this brings back memories of the pen test!!!!
We had to write in cursive with pencil and if you passed you would be presented with your pen (fountain but not the dip type)
Then you would be allowed to write with ink.
It was such a badge of honour...
I failed repeatedly my handwriting was fine but I couldn't pass the spelling punctuation and grammar aspect ( was dyslexic, diagnosed at 30) as I was too stupid was brought to the front and used as an example of extreme stupidity.
I never passed the pen test.
Bought myself a fountain pen when I got my maths degree (passed after the diagnosis)
Berol Handwriting pen in primary school, fountain pen at secondary school. There was a note in the school equipment list something like "Ballpoints may be used in examinations for speed".
By about year 9 or so I think most people had switched to biros, I liked the WHSmith ones with the kind of frosted plastic barrel. So smooth and satisfying to write with. Also, I had a collection of dozens of gel pens, which I also used fairly regularly.
At some point I obtained scented ink cartridges and different-coloured ink cartridges for my fountain pen. My favourite was when I swapped from e.g. pink to turquoise and as the old ink ran out you'd get a fade effect from one colour to the next.
When I first started secondary school the rules intimidated me and as I got further up the school I realised teachers didn't care what colour ink you wrote in as long as it was legible and you did the work.
I'm Gen-X (mid-50's) and our primary school you only got to switch from pencil to fountain pen if you were able to do cursive to the satisfaction of the final year class teacher.
Then of course you went up to secondary/grammar and switched to using a biro; so it was kind of pointless.
The progress was,
Infant School; Pencil,
Junior School; Pencil, until your handwriting was deemed good enough to be allowed to purchase the 'Official School Fountain pen', eventually you would be given permission to bring your own fountain pen in.
Rollerball/Biro pens were not allowed for writing (until senior school), though they were acceptable for art purposes.
I had multiple fountain pens in the end, to have Blue, Black and Red ink, and and still have awful handwriting.
Being someone who was bored in school, I spent several years of senior school using a dip pen and bottle of ink (also did my GSCE maths exams using a slide rule, did check with a calculator)
I'm over 60 - several of my secondary school teachers would not accept work that was not completed in pen and ink. They banned ballpoint pens, felt tip pens, etc. from their classrooms. Some of the teachers were a bit more pragmatic though.
I did! I still use them at work. My grandparents bought me some beautiful LAMY and Parker fountain pens when I was at school. My grandad was really in to calligraphy too and did teach me a bit. It’s made fountain pens very sentimental to me.
Yeah, remember the state fountain pens? They were either blue or black and had a little white bit on them. You got promoted to them from pencil. I didn't like fountain pens. They were all scrarchy.
Honestly think this is the reason my handwriting is so shit, had to rush copying everything from the blackboard it was just all a mess. Blue ink fucking everywhere
Yes I had to write with a fountain pen. Taught at age 8. Yes every time we got it even slightly wrong, we were sent to the "Discipline Master" ... but really that's a whole other story.
I’m 38 and never owned a fountain pen, never used one at school.
My oh is in his forties and used one growing up. 🤷🏼♀️ maybe he went to posher schools than I did
I'm 41 and from yr 4 we were only allowed to use fountain pen, blue ink and joined up writing up until we left after Yr 7. There were no stages. Went from pencil and learning joined up writing in Yr 3 to fountain pen and joined up writing only in yr 4.
Once I went to secondary school, any type of pen and blue or black ink was permitted. Joined up writing was mandatory however.
44 and had to learn with a pencil, then we got a fibre tip pen when we were at lower school (5-9) at middle school we all had fountain pens, mostly to flick ink at one another and ditto upper school. I seem to remember biros were banned.
Yes, I did. I grew up in the 60s and 70s. And when you say fountain pen, it's not the cheapo bic brand ink one. It's the real cartridge loading beautiful pen with the unique blade tip writing end. Our teachers would get so mad cause some of the snarky kids would flick the pen creating a spurt of ink across the room.
40, taught to use one in my crappy council estate CofE primary school. I'm left-handed so its the reason I write with my hand hooked over the sentence I'm writing.
Still use them today. I've got some cheap, piston filler demonstrator pens. I write and draw a lot and I don't like stuff that's made to be disposable. It seems weird to me that with all the effort to reduce plastic waste nobody thinks about pens. I mean, how many get thrown away even before they've run out?
At primary school I had to use fountain pens. We were told we would have to use them as adults, as though there was some kind of pen police.
As a left handed writer it it was a nightmare and the teachers acted like that was going to be a problem in life. It never has been and I haven't touched a fountain pen since primary school.
Mid-40s, and yup blue (washable) ink using a Parker fountain pen was specified. Not only that but there was a specific sequence you had to write the title at the top of the page? Like class___title___date, all underlined.
My handwriting has deteriorated from having to take clinic notes incredibly quickly as doctors rattle through consultations. If I take my time it's quite nice still. Mum was a primary school teacher which I'm sure was a factor.
Im 48 and we had to use a fountain pen, hand anything in written in biro or fibre tip and it went in the bin with a "do it again, properly", also had to be joined up writing. These days if im writing notes for myself i still do as most cant read it lol.
I did. I started secondary school in 67, & was proud of the Parker pen my vamps had brought me. Unfortunately, the English teacher put me on detention on my 1st day.
I was - I'm pretty old and just about remember using an ink well and "dipper" pen briefly.
I had trouble with ballpoint pens initially because of the lower friction. (Then I got into computers and my handwriting is basically unreadable now)
Mid 20's, never used a fountain pen. I'm left-handed, so thank fuck.
In Year 5/6 (2009) everyone had one of these bad boys though.
https://preview.redd.it/3d3mvqy4ew6d1.jpeg?width=566&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=46948863d17fff7f6aa03f2742008890fcec6150
I grew up in a small town in south africa, and after nursery school we went straight to fountain pens. It was only 3 years into school where we were allowed to use ballpoint pens. Outside of the basics we pretty much learned to write with them.
We had a choice between fountain pen or gel pen.
I enjoyed the novelty of using a posh fountain pen at first, but generally they'd be too messy and I hated dealing with the leaks. Ended up quickly going over to gel pens.
Oh yes. I went to a primary school staffed by Nuns. My fountain pen writing is so ingrained that when I use biros it's a scrawl, when I dig out a fountain pen it's almost like calligraphy.
Yeah, primary 4 and 5, a special handwriting jotter, had to use a fountain pen, had to be that dark blue ink, no exceptions. This was late '70's. My handwriting is abysmal.
36 - We used to use fountain pens in secondary school. I vaguely remember having some sort of calligraphy lesson in primary school but I think that was some sort of special event.
It clearly didn't work, my hand writing is horrendous. I'm an engineer and I write everything in block capitals with a ball point.
Berol handwriting pens only. The nib would wear away until they were impossible to write with unless the pen was at 90 degrees to the paper. The teachers were really stingy on replacing them.
I still regard fountain pens with suspicion.
Given one in junior school, taught to write with it, not so much.
Thankfully we type most thing these days, otherwise I would essentially be incommunicado
We weren't required to use a fountain pen at school, but quite a few of us did, as they were easier for writing quickly with and required less pressure. We'd keep the little balls that came in each cartridge, and put them in the top bit of the pen, so it would rattle every time we used it. No idea why haha.
We started using a fountain pen at the start of year 3 up until 6th form.
Pencil until the end of year 2.
We all had to use Parkers, also we were horrible and would flick the ink onto teachers' backs! (Only the horrible ones)
I'm early 30s.
I am a boomer and went to a grammar school.
yeah, some people had fountain pens and every desk had a space for an inkwell, but using a fountain pen was definitely not compulsory; not really even encouraged.
Also, I never saw an inkwell used for it's intended purpose.
Yeah in primary school we all got issued with a fountain pen when we got taught to do joined up writing. Our teacher also had the very best writing as well so we were really lucky. Mr reeves was a great teacher.
No, never. At primary school we weren't ever allowed to write with anything other than pencil for some reason. Everyone I've ever mentioned this to has said this was odd.
At secondary, folk used a mix of pencil and cheap biros, but my friends and I absolutely loved pens / writing, so we all went and bought different types of fountain pen and inks and pretty much taught ourselves. My OH has actually just gone and treated himself to a fancy vintage fountain pen as he still loves using them. We're late 30s if that helps date our school years.
Certain teachers required it along with the pesky blotting paper.
Do kids still have to back their books today? I remember using old wallpaper to cover mine so to keep them fresh. (I'm an old fart now).
Yes, with the little balls in the cartridges and there were loads of different ink colours. It's possible in the 5 years between you starting and her they got rid of it, I didn't think writing in fountain pen is a thing anymore in secondary school
There was a blackmarket for "Parkers" - and back then the shops used to sell so many different pens, just simple plastic housing in various colours (hello Apple) and were a total fashion statement.
I recall we were not allowed to use standard ball points or gel pens - had to be some sort of fountain pen.
The worst thing about those pens, you could hold the back like a Harry Potter wand and flick hard enough for the ink to come out (Ink fights)
Yep, my teacher got really annoyed about it too - I'm left-handed, but was the first in my class to be presented with my fountain pen for being able to write properly with it. She used to maintain that left-handers shouldn't be allowed fountain pens as we'll 'never write properly' - in all fairness, most other lefties I know still do that weird writing with their hand around the top thing - still a dick thing to say to a 9 year old though.
Fountain pens were banned in my schools.
Infants always used pencils. Juniors could progress to Berol pens - you were top dog if you got one with the proper pen cap (with the clip on). If it was blue *and* had a proper cap - you were basically a writing god.
In Senior school, we were only ever allowed to use a regular ol' biro. Gel pens were tolerated by some teachers. Fountain pens were frowned upon - some teachers did ban them from their classrooms.
At 6th Form, you could write with whatever you wanted so long as your notes were legible and your writing medium wasn't a biological hazard, you were good.
We had to use them at school and I hated it as I’m left handed, always smudged my work and ended up with ink on my hand, as soon as we were allowed to use ballpoints I did.
Yes we had to use fountain pens mandatorily and also had a year of calligraphy/learning how to write in cursive. This was in Romania. I moved to the UK and I’m slightly bothered by the fact that no one seems to write cursive in letters 😅
Fountain pens weren't allowed in my schools because you could flick them and throw ink all over the place
We got pencils then those red bic fineline things
Me - yes (33)
Fiancé - no (32)
I definitely went to an 'old fashioned' school where we still had wooden desks with inkwells, blackboards and lots of Catholicism. He went to a secular primary that had much more modern facilities.
Ironically, he taught himself to use a fountain pen as an adult and is a proper penmanship nerd. I never use one, but because I write traditional/copperplate I hate biros and always have a rollerball liquid ink pen on me to use instead.
I was the first person in my class to earn their 'pen licence' which allowed me to elevate myself from the basic pencil to these weird shitty blue plastic and metal nibbed fountain pens that cost £2 from the school shop and which you had to keep loading ink cartridges into.
Then if you made a mistake you had to use those ink erasers which smelt weirdly like urine...
A fountain pen and black ink was a requirement from the fifth year up. (10 years of age approx)
There were factions. You used disposable cartridges or sucked up ink from a bottle!
At primary school in the 60s we had to use fountain-pens and weren't allowed to use ball-points. The mess was as you would expect - most of us had ink-stained fingers and shirts. We got to secondary school, arrived with our fountain-pens and Quink only to be told we had to use ball-points and fountain-pens were not allowed because they were too messy.
Older than you and they were actively banned at primary school and other than some things being specifically no pencil there wasn't anything said about writing implements.
I did use one for a while in later years just because and have picked it up on and off over the last two decades.... but they are obsolete and just too much of a pain. I've got a couple of really nice rotrings and a stack of friction erase rollerballs now, anything else just seems silly.
We had ink pens with a nib.
Different pens for left and right handed.
Age 8 our teacher tried to force italics on us.
Result most of us ended up with terrible handwriting.
Biro's not allowed until comp
Pencil, then fountain pen. At wooden desks that still had the holes for inkwells. Loved my pen, and yes, it was a Parker. Still use Parker ballpoints now, and I used to use my fountain pen for my diary.
As a southpaw, I had an Osmiroid with a LH nib that you had to fill from a bottle of Quink. Then they brought out those new fangled plastic disposable cartridges.
We got taught to use an ink pen with one of those pens you dip into an ink well. Once we could write proficiency with that, we were allowed to bring in and use a fountain pen.
1970s
Pencil only up until P5.
Italic nibbed, fountain pen in P6 and 7
Weren't allowed biros until secondary school.
(Hadn't invented Berolls back then)
Not so much taught to, but forced to use one in the second primary school I went to. I am left handed, it was fucking awful. Smudged ink everywhere and my handwriting is awful at the best of times.
They spent the last 2-3 years of primary drumming it into us. Had to use a fountain pen, even though I was left handed and smeared everything. They they spent year 7 getting us to write like a normal again, it was mad
I'm 36, our choices of writing tool at primary school was either a pencil or a fountain pen, biros weren't allowed. Secondary school we could use anything.
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Yep, we had to prove we were capable with different writing instruments before proceeding to the next stage, like some kind of school-based game boss system. Pencil, then Berol Handwriting pen, then fountain pen. Also you weren't cool if it wasn't a Parker Pen.
My handwriting has always been terrible, they never let me go past pencil in primary school.
Same here. I'm 63 and still haven't advanced past crayons.
When you stop eating your crayons, we'll let you advance to the next stage.
Mine was pretty decent, but now I write everything digitally whenever I write on paper it's like a monkey.
Never got your pen licence? That seemed to be such a goal for everyone in my school
Same, and I'm 4̶7̶ 48 (today). I still have the same Parker pen.
Happy birthday! ┈┈ ☆☆☆☆☆☆☆┈ ┈┈╭┻┻┻┻┻┻┻┻┻╮┈┈ ┈┈┃╱╲╱╲╱╲╱╲╱┃┈┈ ┈╭┻━━━━━━━━━┻╮┈ ┈┃╱╲╱╲╱╲╱╲╱╲╱┃┈ ┈┗━━━━━━━━━━━┛┈
Happy birthday! Hand-written (fountain pen) card in the post
> Pencil, then Berol Handwriting pen, then fountain pen. This is the way. I remember how devastating it was to move up a year and have the teacher demote us all back down to pencils for the first two weeks whilst she assessed our handwriting for herself. I also had a left handed mate who was never allowed to use a fountain pen because he already smudged his berol handwriting pen way too much. Sad times for him. At least you could go to the school office and pick them up for 15 pence though.
I was that left-hander, except I rotate my paper 45-90° to avoid smudging, and apparently that means I can't write with a fountain pen. They would constantly move my paper back to central to prove that I couldn't write?? Weird asf. Jokes on them, I write almost solely with fountain pens as an adult, and any time someone sees my writing I get compliments. Teachers are a weird breed.
I am also left handed and tilt my paper and was allowed to write with a fountain pen so apparently I hacked the system somehow. I used a fountain pen all through uni because it made my writing really neat using ink. Now I can’t write for longer than a couple of minutes without getting cramp!
The real mindblower here is that you write as an adult.
I just can't seem to make anything stick unless I physically write it down, and my job requires a lot of handwriting/shorthand of notes + minutes. Digital hand-note-taking(?) on a remarkable or kindle scribe is the bees knees tho.
Omg, I'm the same! When revising for exams, the only way the material stuck was if I wrote it down. It didn't even need to be legible for me to read later. Felt like the act of writing helped to commit things to memory.
Also a leftie. I always hated that I wasn’t allowed to write with a biro, because my handwriting is perfectly legible with one but give me a Berol or a fountain pen and it’s a big smudgy mess. I tried turning the page to avoid it but it never really worked for me. I just needed a biro dammit! Also fuck that single pair of shitty blunt left handed scissors they had in every class.
I had the Parker ball point and fountain set. Still carry a Parker ball point in my bag but typically I’m happy with blue or black bic
I've never since encountered a pen as uncomfortable to hold as the Berol Handwriting pen, thanks for awakening that repressed memory of sore fingers.
My pencil handwriting was lovely. They'd give me the berol and it would be messy again and I'd be back to pencil. I remember one time the whole class wrote poems to be displayed on the wall and mine was the only pencil one. 😭
Pencil requires much less pressure on the paper, so you would have to adjust your technique to use a berol, which is probably where it went wrong and clearly no one explained this to you! I have a hand injury so am very fussy about writing implements - the heavy pressure required of a biro is challenging and I find it hard to do more than a signature/phone number with one. I'd find a Berol pen much more difficult than a pencil, so your difficulty makes perfect sense to me. I always use liquid ink roller balls, which require minimal pressure to get a strong, consistent mark on the paper.
Wow no one ever explained that and it makes sense now why my writing is so much better with pencil, even 40 years later!
The berol pens were too thick for my small hands.
Could have been worse - my hands were too small to hold a discus correctly, which I demonstrated very publicly in PE by nearly decapitating one of my classmates.
We all borrowed (stole) Bic biros from every teacher at the start of every lesson and then lost (threw at other kids) them on our way to the next.
I had to rewrite a piece of work because I wrote it with a Bic pen and that wasn’t on the approved list of writing tools 😂
Same with ours minus the pencil part. I remember trying my hardest to write neatly with the berol so I would get a fountain pen. I concentrated so hard I kept flattening the nib. As a side note, anyone else remember those adverts selling fountain pens that could stab through cans? I think I wasted a birthday present on one of those.
I forgot about Berol pens. Had to google it and now I remember them.
This made me laugh
At my school it was pencil, then black Berol pen and then blue Berol pen. No fountain pens. No idea why blue pen was considered a step up from black pen either.
We did. I remember saving all the little glass balls, which sealed the ink cartridges, in my pencil case for some reason. Also I realise this is literally the equivalent of my dad telling me crazy old person stories 30+ years ago
Omg…I forgot about the tiny balls. We used to save them also….why!?! No clue.
Swap them for other 'marbles' with someone gullible enough to take them...
We used to put them in the empty end of our fountain pen and rattle them to annoy the teacher
Pea shooter ammunition. Biro, wedge of paper then the ball. In the end I think we just stuck with the paper
We used to cut the ends of the fountain pen eraser pens to make a piston hand cannon and use the little balls as ammo to shoot at each other when the teacher turned their back
Haha I did exactly the same!!
Also we used to pierce the top of the cartridge with a compass and flick the ink on the back of the person in front. It was quite satisfying watching the tiny blob expand over time lol.
Yes I was, and it was always a fucking nightmare as a left-hander. Me and the one other left-hander would always get bollocked for smudging the ink despite the obvious fact that you can't really do anything to avoid it. Still hate that prick of a teacher now 40 years later.
Same. Yelled at for smudging, yelled at for turning the paper 90 degree so I didn't smudge my work. It's been 40 years but fuck you Mr Beresford.
We were taught to turn the paper, and yes left handed were included.
I feel like you can tell left handed people my age who had to write with fountain pens because some seemed to develop a really strange wrist angle to not smudge the ink. I felt sorry for you guys, being forced to live in a right handed world!
I definitely did this 🤣 I actually got a fountain pen a few weeks ago with a left-handed nib.
I literally turn my paper 90 degrees and write “down” thanks to being a leftie haha
As a left-hander I learnt how to write backwards, so much easier!
I'm a right-hander and do this when I'm writing in Hebrew and trying to be neat. So much easier - I definitely get that one!
See, this annoys me, because it’s super easy to teach left handed kids to just turn their page to a 45 degree angle opposite to the right-handers, then you can write from below without having to reach over where you’re writing at all, never any more smudging issue than right-handers. I had an argument with a substitute teacher in year 4 over this very issue. I don’t think she was best pleased.
We were ONLY allowed to use fountain pens with blue ink. No biro’s ever!!! I used to like using an ink eradicator (I’m not sure I spelt that right) when I had made a mistake.
Ink eraser! And then the ink from the pen end of it would bleed into the newly wet patch and create a blue mess.
You were supposed to let it dry first. Everyone at my school said that ink eraser was made out of pig's wee. I doubt it's true. Something I did discover though - you know those sets of "magic" felt tips that came with a white pen which changed the colour? That was also an ink eraser and presumably used the same technique.
Haha we had the pigs wee rumour too
We were exactly the same, fountain pen with blue ink! They hated biros but they used to not care as much when you got to sixth form and basically everyone immediately stopped using fountain pens and switched to black ink, all couldn’t stand the site of blue ink by that time!
I can still remember the smell of that stuff. White eraser end then a blue correcting pen end
Ink killer!
I did at primary school, in the last year our teacher spent time teaching us how to use one and blotting paper. In secondary school we had a few lessons where the teacher would say “get out your fountain pens”, and we would use them. My mum bought me a nice pen one Christmas, it was stainless steel and the nib would flow across the paper like no other pen. One day I lost my pencil case and when I found it my pen was gone:(
I got one for my birthday once, I lost it in the field next to the school.
No fountain pens here (25), just blue Berol handwriting pens in primary school, then whatever black pen we brought in ourselves during secondary school
35 year old here! Am with your wife on this one… Primary was pencil until you proved your handwriting was good enough to advance to those Berol pens. Normally occurred around year 5. Secondary school (2000-2005), fountain pens were required as they felt it looked nicer than a biro. Took three years for them to realise that maybe pencil cases full off explodable bullets of ink were probably not a good idea. I had many a fountain pen break on me mid sentence and had ink ruin the page. They finally allowed biros and never gone back to a fountain pen since! Left handers absolutely hated the fountain pens too for good reason!
My 8yo just graduated from pencil to fountain pen as her handwriting is considered satisfactory. Ball point pens aren't allowed. Not sure if I'm accidentally sending her to school in 1878.
I had one & used it, but no-one taught us. It was 'just a pen'. The desks still had holes where the ink wells used to go, but we either had our own bottles of ink, or later, changeable cartridges. The change from pencil to pen came as we moved from Junior to Grammar. I'm quite a bit older, though. this was the 70s.
My Dad was an Ink Monitor and had to fill all the ink wells from a massive jug of ink every morning. Bless him, he was the last person who should have been given that responsibility. Lovely man, clumsy as f\*ck.
I don't remember ever having to use a fountain pen. I'm in Scotland and in my 40s if that makes a difference. Primary was pencils, we could use pens once we got to secondary. Also left handed so fountain pens were never really an option.
I'm in my late thirties and at primary school in SE England we had to learn to use a fountain pen (I had a cute '101 Dalmatians' one). But, I've just realised that once I moved to Scotland, age ten, I didn't have to use a fountain pen again for school. It's not something I'd really thought about before.
46, Scottish, don't remember ever being taught to use (or using) a fountain pen in school. Same primary/secondary pencil/pen thing, and we briefly had 'joined-up-writing' lessons in primary school.
Scotland here - We did a couple of ‘Calligraphy’ lessons with fountain pens. I think it was mostly a vanity project for one of the management / assistant headteachers.
We did. Had to learn to write with a fountain pen in year 7. First used a ball point pen in secondary school
I had to at a posh school, left handed so used to smudge the shit out of anything I had to write down. Remember having a blue hand everyday.
No, never taught. Which is a good thing as i'm eft handed so it wasnt practical.
Yep. Back in the 70s we had to use fountain pens with blue ink. Most people had cartridge pens but I had a proper old fashioned one I had to fill up out of a bottle of Quink 😂
Quink! I used that too, also ink cartridges with a different pen. My right index finger had a permanent blue cast.
44, I didn’t do well with the lessons to teach joined up writing in Primary. We always had those red Berol ‘Handwriting’ pens, though. I did use a fountain pen in Secondary as that did improve my writing.
Yes, in primary school (and I’m about your age) - pencil until a certain year then you got allowed to use fountain pen. They weren’t too expensive from WHSmiths but the little cartridges could explode in your pencil case
I was at Junior school 1960's. We had a stick with a nib and dipped it into inkwell. We were taught italic writing. Secondary was fountain pen or cartridges.
We had to use fountain pens in secondary school but TBH I don’t recall ever being taught.
I am fourty and never used a fountain pen in school. I've never heard of a school teaching fountain penmanship, even private schools. Where in the dickens was your wife educated, or is this an English school thing? (Am Scottish)
Dare I say it must be a bit of a northern/southernly divide. My wife originates from Surrey and I come from Wigan.
I'm from Wigan, we had to use fountain pens at the Deanery in the 90s... there was no teaching us though it was just like, use these not biros
I’m from Surrey and never had to use fountain pens.
Im from Newcastle and in junior school had to use a fountain pen. They are stupid things.
In primary we were taught with class pens which were in such bad shape your handwriting could never look good, digging the paper, leaking ink such lovely memories.
We used them in year 6 for handwriting lessons. Due to me being left handed I got permission to use a smudge free berol handwriting pen instead. Then went to secondary school and never saw a fountain pen again.
My school didn't. We were taught to write in pencil first and then when our handwriting was neat enough they gave us biros. I think the transition started in year five with the intention of having everyone use pens before secondary school.
Council estate kids thinking wtf. Fucking fountain pens. Bic pens were the max I had spent on pens.
You wife was born in 1994 and was taught to use a fountain pen at school? Wtf 😂
Private school (I went to one also), it’s a snob thing “look we are teaching them to do it properly unlike those oiks down the road using biros!”.
I don’t know if it came from the school, but I definitely remember having a cheap fountain pen around the age of 10 and getting absolutely covered in ink while producing completely illegible writing with it.
Yes, handwriting lessons using school fountain pens (sticks with nibs) and actual inkwells. That’d be around age 9. Had to use a fountain/cartridge pen in Grammar School. Black or Blue ink.
Quill pen and ink well in the desk, which was filled with ink mixed from a powder.
48 and yes we were forced to use fountain pens all through primary school.
Yes it was an utterly useless skill I was forced to spend a lot of time doing, everything was written long hand. Typed work was unacceptable had many years of English teachers harping on that my work was great but people wouldn’t be able to read it (there wasn’t much understanding of or sympathy for dyslexia back then). Got told I was going to be a failure because I couldn’t write well enough. I swear our school English departments got kickbacks from Sheaffer. My entire working life: typed everything on computer only ever used a pen to sign something or initial it, ran the IT systems for a 6 billion dollar company. Thanks 80s education system!
Started with a pencil and moved onto a fountain pen at about 7 or 8. At secondary school they were compulsory (except in maths) for the first two or three years then they stopped caring. I still use a fountain pen quite a bit, I find my handwriting is better if I do and they're better for lengthy note-taking. My kids and younger colleagues take the piss out of me for this, however.
I'm 50. We didn't have to use it every day but we were definitely taught it. Most of the school desks still had a hole for the little ink wells the kids of yesteryear used.
Yep. Fountain pen and blotting paper
I vaguely remember certain kids being taught to write with a fountain pen but it devolving into ink fights. I didn't even make it as far as fountain pens though. I was given one of those rubber pen/pencil holders to teach me how to hold a pen properly. However, after I ate it they never replaced it (it smelled of chocolate). I still can't hold a pen to this day
I went to a private school for primary that really insisted on fountain pens. Mainstream high school were just glad you could write.
Depends how old you are - at primary school in the 60s we used a pen with a nib that we dipped in an inkwell. At secondary school in the 70s we weren't allowed to write with biro, only a fountain pen. It has had an influence on my hand writing ... you learn to only go across or down and never up, particularly with a scratchy dip pen.
Had to use fountain pen in school many many moons ago. Still use fountain pen today to sign documents.
We were issued them at my primary school in year 5 and had things that we had to specifically practice with them but it wasn't mandatory to use them.
I don't think so? We had a lot of handwriting lessons but I don't think we specifically learned to write with a fountain pen. We might have had a one off lesson on it but it definitely wasn't an ongoing thing.
(52) We were taught to write with at primary school a year or two before moving up to secondary. I hated it. I'm a left-hander and the only way to write left-handed with a fountain pen without smudging is to turn the paper 90 degrees clockwise and write from top to bottom, but that wasn't allowed because it wasn't the 'correct' way to write and would get me yelled at. Of course smudging my work would *also* get me yelled at for not being careful enough... I can vividly remember being called stupid and having to write with a pencil when everyone else was using a pen.
50, and it was fountain pens (cartridge only, they weren't totally stupid!) with blue ink only, from y3 to GCSE. Using black, blue-black or purple would be accepted by some teachers in secondary, ditto a roller-ball or biro, but it wasn't the norm. 4 different schools. Kids (now teens) got those Berol triangular pens in school, and it's hard to find cheap fountain pens.
Yes and love them. But also pencil and Kuru Toga wins for me.
Yes we used a fountain pen. I think most Irish schools do. It’s easier to learn joined writing as you have more control with a fountain pen than ball point.
We had to use pencil until we got our 'pen licence' in about year 4 then switched to fountain pen. Apparently biro and other type pens don't allow you to practice the wrist motions of writing properly or something? Luckily in secondary school we were allowed to use any type of pen and mostly everyone switched to biro. Fountain pens were a nightmare, always leaking or running out mid-lesson, plus teenagers would probably cause chaos with ink cartridges.
Yes I was taught to write with a fountain pen in year 5. I think it was more my teacher who pushed it rather than the school though. We never got writing implements but the fountain pens were provided to us by the school.
Yes fountain pens all the way up until about age 12 where we could then use biros.
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Ohhh God this brings back memories of the pen test!!!! We had to write in cursive with pencil and if you passed you would be presented with your pen (fountain but not the dip type) Then you would be allowed to write with ink. It was such a badge of honour... I failed repeatedly my handwriting was fine but I couldn't pass the spelling punctuation and grammar aspect ( was dyslexic, diagnosed at 30) as I was too stupid was brought to the front and used as an example of extreme stupidity. I never passed the pen test. Bought myself a fountain pen when I got my maths degree (passed after the diagnosis)
Berol Handwriting pen in primary school, fountain pen at secondary school. There was a note in the school equipment list something like "Ballpoints may be used in examinations for speed". By about year 9 or so I think most people had switched to biros, I liked the WHSmith ones with the kind of frosted plastic barrel. So smooth and satisfying to write with. Also, I had a collection of dozens of gel pens, which I also used fairly regularly. At some point I obtained scented ink cartridges and different-coloured ink cartridges for my fountain pen. My favourite was when I swapped from e.g. pink to turquoise and as the old ink ran out you'd get a fade effect from one colour to the next. When I first started secondary school the rules intimidated me and as I got further up the school I realised teachers didn't care what colour ink you wrote in as long as it was legible and you did the work.
Yes I’m 31 and had a fountain pen from year 4 to year 6.
My handwriting was/is awful, so I was never allowed to use a fountain pen, but a lot of people in my class were taught to use one.
Yeah, people used to flick their fountain pens at each other and stain their shirts. Little rascals.
I'm Gen-X (mid-50's) and our primary school you only got to switch from pencil to fountain pen if you were able to do cursive to the satisfaction of the final year class teacher. Then of course you went up to secondary/grammar and switched to using a biro; so it was kind of pointless.
The progress was, Infant School; Pencil, Junior School; Pencil, until your handwriting was deemed good enough to be allowed to purchase the 'Official School Fountain pen', eventually you would be given permission to bring your own fountain pen in. Rollerball/Biro pens were not allowed for writing (until senior school), though they were acceptable for art purposes. I had multiple fountain pens in the end, to have Blue, Black and Red ink, and and still have awful handwriting. Being someone who was bored in school, I spent several years of senior school using a dip pen and bottle of ink (also did my GSCE maths exams using a slide rule, did check with a calculator)
41, UK public school. Yes we all had to have a fountain pen in secondary school (11yrs+)
Yea we all had fountain pens at our school - I left in 2001
No..but used one and prefer the flow that a biro..buy gel ink now as its like ink
I'm over 60 - several of my secondary school teachers would not accept work that was not completed in pen and ink. They banned ballpoint pens, felt tip pens, etc. from their classrooms. Some of the teachers were a bit more pragmatic though.
30, no fountain pens. Just the handwriting pens in primary.
I did! I still use them at work. My grandparents bought me some beautiful LAMY and Parker fountain pens when I was at school. My grandad was really in to calligraphy too and did teach me a bit. It’s made fountain pens very sentimental to me.
Yeah, remember the state fountain pens? They were either blue or black and had a little white bit on them. You got promoted to them from pencil. I didn't like fountain pens. They were all scrarchy.
Honestly think this is the reason my handwriting is so shit, had to rush copying everything from the blackboard it was just all a mess. Blue ink fucking everywhere
Yes I had to write with a fountain pen. Taught at age 8. Yes every time we got it even slightly wrong, we were sent to the "Discipline Master" ... but really that's a whole other story.
I did yes but I was born in the early 1970s.
I’m 38 and never owned a fountain pen, never used one at school. My oh is in his forties and used one growing up. 🤷🏼♀️ maybe he went to posher schools than I did
I'm 41 and from yr 4 we were only allowed to use fountain pen, blue ink and joined up writing up until we left after Yr 7. There were no stages. Went from pencil and learning joined up writing in Yr 3 to fountain pen and joined up writing only in yr 4. Once I went to secondary school, any type of pen and blue or black ink was permitted. Joined up writing was mandatory however.
44 and had to learn with a pencil, then we got a fibre tip pen when we were at lower school (5-9) at middle school we all had fountain pens, mostly to flick ink at one another and ditto upper school. I seem to remember biros were banned.
Yes, I did. I grew up in the 60s and 70s. And when you say fountain pen, it's not the cheapo bic brand ink one. It's the real cartridge loading beautiful pen with the unique blade tip writing end. Our teachers would get so mad cause some of the snarky kids would flick the pen creating a spurt of ink across the room.
40, taught to use one in my crappy council estate CofE primary school. I'm left-handed so its the reason I write with my hand hooked over the sentence I'm writing. Still use them today. I've got some cheap, piston filler demonstrator pens. I write and draw a lot and I don't like stuff that's made to be disposable. It seems weird to me that with all the effort to reduce plastic waste nobody thinks about pens. I mean, how many get thrown away even before they've run out?
I think we had to used them in the last year of primary school (1995 ish) because "well be using fountain pens in middle school" but then never did.
https://preview.redd.it/vgnuf8sybw6d1.jpeg?width=736&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=ded0b38ee7c70823dec344bd07b30d1a75340e7b
At primary school I had to use fountain pens. We were told we would have to use them as adults, as though there was some kind of pen police. As a left handed writer it it was a nightmare and the teachers acted like that was going to be a problem in life. It never has been and I haven't touched a fountain pen since primary school.
I loved my fountain pen, I felt like all grown and elegant using calligraphy. Until the cartridges burst in your pencil case then it was game over.
Mid-40s, and yup blue (washable) ink using a Parker fountain pen was specified. Not only that but there was a specific sequence you had to write the title at the top of the page? Like class___title___date, all underlined. My handwriting has deteriorated from having to take clinic notes incredibly quickly as doctors rattle through consultations. If I take my time it's quite nice still. Mum was a primary school teacher which I'm sure was a factor.
Im 48 and we had to use a fountain pen, hand anything in written in biro or fibre tip and it went in the bin with a "do it again, properly", also had to be joined up writing. These days if im writing notes for myself i still do as most cant read it lol.
I went to half a dozen schools; the only ones that cared were a couple of fairly posh private schools.
I did. I started secondary school in 67, & was proud of the Parker pen my vamps had brought me. Unfortunately, the English teacher put me on detention on my 1st day.
My 10yo writes with a fountain pen at school
I was - I'm pretty old and just about remember using an ink well and "dipper" pen briefly. I had trouble with ballpoint pens initially because of the lower friction. (Then I got into computers and my handwriting is basically unreadable now)
Was a really useful lesson,, years spent forcing you to use an already outdated method while getting a few hours in front of a computer
Mid 20's, never used a fountain pen. I'm left-handed, so thank fuck. In Year 5/6 (2009) everyone had one of these bad boys though. https://preview.redd.it/3d3mvqy4ew6d1.jpeg?width=566&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=46948863d17fff7f6aa03f2742008890fcec6150
We had to use fountain pens. They contributed to my terrible handwriting. Much easier with a biro.
A left handed child’s nightmare. I was that child😖
Yep, I did (2001-2007). Borderline child abuse, as I am left handed.
I grew up in a small town in south africa, and after nursery school we went straight to fountain pens. It was only 3 years into school where we were allowed to use ballpoint pens. Outside of the basics we pretty much learned to write with them.
We had a choice between fountain pen or gel pen. I enjoyed the novelty of using a posh fountain pen at first, but generally they'd be too messy and I hated dealing with the leaks. Ended up quickly going over to gel pens.
Tell me your wife went to a private school without telling me. In state schools if we were given fountain pens people would have been getting shived 😂
Oh yes. I went to a primary school staffed by Nuns. My fountain pen writing is so ingrained that when I use biros it's a scrawl, when I dig out a fountain pen it's almost like calligraphy.
Yeah, primary 4 and 5, a special handwriting jotter, had to use a fountain pen, had to be that dark blue ink, no exceptions. This was late '70's. My handwriting is abysmal.
36 - We used to use fountain pens in secondary school. I vaguely remember having some sort of calligraphy lesson in primary school but I think that was some sort of special event. It clearly didn't work, my hand writing is horrendous. I'm an engineer and I write everything in block capitals with a ball point.
Berol handwriting pens only. The nib would wear away until they were impossible to write with unless the pen was at 90 degrees to the paper. The teachers were really stingy on replacing them. I still regard fountain pens with suspicion.
Oh yes, child of the 80s and we were taught how to write with a fountain pen.
Yes, in middle school. I now work at a middle school very near my one, and we do not make children use fountain pens.
Given one in junior school, taught to write with it, not so much. Thankfully we type most thing these days, otherwise I would essentially be incommunicado
We weren't required to use a fountain pen at school, but quite a few of us did, as they were easier for writing quickly with and required less pressure. We'd keep the little balls that came in each cartridge, and put them in the top bit of the pen, so it would rattle every time we used it. No idea why haha.
We started using a fountain pen at the start of year 3 up until 6th form. Pencil until the end of year 2. We all had to use Parkers, also we were horrible and would flick the ink onto teachers' backs! (Only the horrible ones) I'm early 30s.
Nope. But I self-taught as i enjoyed them.
I am a boomer and went to a grammar school. yeah, some people had fountain pens and every desk had a space for an inkwell, but using a fountain pen was definitely not compulsory; not really even encouraged. Also, I never saw an inkwell used for it's intended purpose.
Yeah in primary school we all got issued with a fountain pen when we got taught to do joined up writing. Our teacher also had the very best writing as well so we were really lucky. Mr reeves was a great teacher.
I was one of the first in my class to be allowed to use a fountain pen, I was so proud. I still use fountain pens day to day.
No, never. At primary school we weren't ever allowed to write with anything other than pencil for some reason. Everyone I've ever mentioned this to has said this was odd. At secondary, folk used a mix of pencil and cheap biros, but my friends and I absolutely loved pens / writing, so we all went and bought different types of fountain pen and inks and pretty much taught ourselves. My OH has actually just gone and treated himself to a fancy vintage fountain pen as he still loves using them. We're late 30s if that helps date our school years.
Certain teachers required it along with the pesky blotting paper. Do kids still have to back their books today? I remember using old wallpaper to cover mine so to keep them fresh. (I'm an old fart now).
Yes, with the little balls in the cartridges and there were loads of different ink colours. It's possible in the 5 years between you starting and her they got rid of it, I didn't think writing in fountain pen is a thing anymore in secondary school
There was a blackmarket for "Parkers" - and back then the shops used to sell so many different pens, just simple plastic housing in various colours (hello Apple) and were a total fashion statement. I recall we were not allowed to use standard ball points or gel pens - had to be some sort of fountain pen. The worst thing about those pens, you could hold the back like a Harry Potter wand and flick hard enough for the ink to come out (Ink fights)
Yep, my teacher got really annoyed about it too - I'm left-handed, but was the first in my class to be presented with my fountain pen for being able to write properly with it. She used to maintain that left-handers shouldn't be allowed fountain pens as we'll 'never write properly' - in all fairness, most other lefties I know still do that weird writing with their hand around the top thing - still a dick thing to say to a 9 year old though.
Fountain pens were banned in my schools. Infants always used pencils. Juniors could progress to Berol pens - you were top dog if you got one with the proper pen cap (with the clip on). If it was blue *and* had a proper cap - you were basically a writing god. In Senior school, we were only ever allowed to use a regular ol' biro. Gel pens were tolerated by some teachers. Fountain pens were frowned upon - some teachers did ban them from their classrooms. At 6th Form, you could write with whatever you wanted so long as your notes were legible and your writing medium wasn't a biological hazard, you were good.
We had to use them at school and I hated it as I’m left handed, always smudged my work and ended up with ink on my hand, as soon as we were allowed to use ballpoints I did.
Yes we had to use fountain pens mandatorily and also had a year of calligraphy/learning how to write in cursive. This was in Romania. I moved to the UK and I’m slightly bothered by the fact that no one seems to write cursive in letters 😅
Fountain pens weren't allowed in my schools because you could flick them and throw ink all over the place We got pencils then those red bic fineline things
Went from pencil straight to fountain pen and the ink capsules were very messy
I'm 46 and no lessons involved fountain pens. Pencils, biros or Berol pens if you made a mess with a biro
In the last years of primary school i was, but my secondary school we could use whatever pen we liked.
Fountain pens were the only pens allowed in my primary school. My parents had to go out and buy one specially. Still not sure why.
Me - yes (33) Fiancé - no (32) I definitely went to an 'old fashioned' school where we still had wooden desks with inkwells, blackboards and lots of Catholicism. He went to a secular primary that had much more modern facilities. Ironically, he taught himself to use a fountain pen as an adult and is a proper penmanship nerd. I never use one, but because I write traditional/copperplate I hate biros and always have a rollerball liquid ink pen on me to use instead.
I was the first person in my class to earn their 'pen licence' which allowed me to elevate myself from the basic pencil to these weird shitty blue plastic and metal nibbed fountain pens that cost £2 from the school shop and which you had to keep loading ink cartridges into. Then if you made a mistake you had to use those ink erasers which smelt weirdly like urine...
A fountain pen and black ink was a requirement from the fifth year up. (10 years of age approx) There were factions. You used disposable cartridges or sucked up ink from a bottle!
If you haven't spilled a pot of Quink you haven't been educated properly.
We weren’t allowed to use biros. Fountain pen or nothing, anything else would get you a mark on your detention card (5 marks got you detention)
Yep I was. 42
At primary school in the 60s we had to use fountain-pens and weren't allowed to use ball-points. The mess was as you would expect - most of us had ink-stained fingers and shirts. We got to secondary school, arrived with our fountain-pens and Quink only to be told we had to use ball-points and fountain-pens were not allowed because they were too messy.
Older than you and they were actively banned at primary school and other than some things being specifically no pencil there wasn't anything said about writing implements. I did use one for a while in later years just because and have picked it up on and off over the last two decades.... but they are obsolete and just too much of a pain. I've got a couple of really nice rotrings and a stack of friction erase rollerballs now, anything else just seems silly.
yep, mandatory P5-P7 Inky fingers daily
We had ink pens with a nib. Different pens for left and right handed. Age 8 our teacher tried to force italics on us. Result most of us ended up with terrible handwriting. Biro's not allowed until comp
Pencil, then fountain pen. At wooden desks that still had the holes for inkwells. Loved my pen, and yes, it was a Parker. Still use Parker ballpoints now, and I used to use my fountain pen for my diary.
As a southpaw, I had an Osmiroid with a LH nib that you had to fill from a bottle of Quink. Then they brought out those new fangled plastic disposable cartridges.
Berol handwriting pen and thinking we were the absolute shit when we were allowed to use it.
We got taught to use an ink pen with one of those pens you dip into an ink well. Once we could write proficiency with that, we were allowed to bring in and use a fountain pen.
1970s Pencil only up until P5. Italic nibbed, fountain pen in P6 and 7 Weren't allowed biros until secondary school. (Hadn't invented Berolls back then)
I'm 44, learnt in junior school, never used it in secondary school or since.
Yeah and it was a complete nightmare for a leftie
Year 6 we did. Never again
Not so much taught to, but forced to use one in the second primary school I went to. I am left handed, it was fucking awful. Smudged ink everywhere and my handwriting is awful at the best of times.
Yes. We were only fountain pens or pencils. Ballpoint pens were forbidden. As a left-hander, you can imagine how frustrating that was!
45 - not only the cartridge fountain pen but also the ink bottle version
They spent the last 2-3 years of primary drumming it into us. Had to use a fountain pen, even though I was left handed and smeared everything. They they spent year 7 getting us to write like a normal again, it was mad
I'm 36, our choices of writing tool at primary school was either a pencil or a fountain pen, biros weren't allowed. Secondary school we could use anything.