The 1990s feels to many like it was only yesterday. But life was very different for teenagers in that pre-millennium era.
Instead of going online shopping and scrolling through social media, we'd back our school books with spare wallpaper and work hard to keep our Tamagotchis alive.
You could get penny sweets from the tuck shop and on the menu at lunchtime were the legendary Turkey Twizzlers. Not everyone will agree that school days are the best days of your life, but most of us have recollections from the 90s that we still remember fondly today.
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Here are 17 things you'll remember if you went to school in Manchester in the 1990s. From bubble backpacks to buying Space Raiders, these are sure to transport you back in time.
The list isn't intended to be comprehensive. But if you feel there is something from 90s school life in Manchester that should have been included, let us know in the comments section.
1. The wooden climbing frames in PE
School sports halls in the 90s were renowned for having a rickety wooden climbing frame that took up half the room. Equipped with ladders and ropes that you could swing from, the climbing frames were usually a treat that teachers saved until the end of a PE lesson.
2. Wrapping your textbooks in posters and wrapping paper
It might sound strange to some but wrapping your exercise books in posters and wrapping paper definitely made lessons more fun back in the day. From photos of your favourite band to vibrant wrapping paper, it quickly became a competition with your class mates to see who had the most creative flare.
3. Space Raiders
Space Raiders were the alien-shaped crisps that everyone bought at school discos and from the tuck shop. At one time the crisps were sold in five flavours and they still remain a big hit with kids today.
4. Monster Munch that turned your tongue blue
If you grew up in the 90s you must remember the monster munch that turned your tongue blue. The pickled onion flavoured crisps boasted of their colour changing ability on the front of the packet in bold writing that said "turns your tongue BLUE".
5. Bubble backpacks for school
Let's not forget the bubble backpack trend that swept through schools during the 90s. The miniature backpacks came in four different colours and were deceiving in size.
6. 10p Freddos
Long gone are the days when you could buy a Freddo for 10p from the tuck shop. The tiny chocolate bar tripled in price by 2017 to a cost of 30p.
Do these awaken any memories for you? Let us know in the comments section below.
7. Penny sweets
Stocking up on penny sweets are the corner shop on the way home from school was a must for many kids back in the day.
8. Tamagotchis
Keeping your Tamagotchi alive each day was a serious task for children throughout the 90s. The small hand-held devices required users to feed and nurture their pet creature to ensure it didn’t ‘die.’
9. POGS
The 90s school ground game POGs, also known as milk caps, was the game that everyone used to play back in the day. The circular cardboard discs were printed with all kinds of pictures on the front, from Disney characters to vibrant patterns, making them highly collectable.
To play POGs, players would use a heavier game piece known as a slammer to send the opponents pieces flying. Any piece which landed face upwards went to that player and the person with the most POGs at the end of the game was the winner.
10. Head bags
The sports and clothing company Head made the best bags for carrying around your PE kit and books at school.
11. Handwriting pens
No child’s pencil case was complete without an official ‘handwriting pen.’ Known for making your writing much neater, handwriting pens are still used widely in schools to help children practice joining up letters.
12. Pokemon Cards
One game which still remains popular with school kids today is playing and trading Pokemon cards. The company have done their best to keep the production of some cards extremely limited, meaning you could be sitting on a fortune if you still have your cards at the back of your wardrobe.
13. Turkey Twizzlers
If you were at school in the nineties and early noughties you will remember tucking into a plate of Turkey Twizzlers alongside potato smiles and beans. Sadly, Bernard Matthews stopped making Turkey Twizzlers after they were excluded from school meals following a campaign by celebrity chef Jamie Oliver in a bid to make kids eat more healthily.
In 2018 over 15,000 people signed a petition asking Mr Matthews to bring back Turkey Twizzlers but so far, they still remain a thing of the past.
14. Marble bars
The melt in your mouth chocolate bar that many will recall from their childhood are Marble bars. Marble bars were made of praline, milk and white chocolate blended together in a marble effect, giving the chocolate its name. After launching at the end of the 90s in the year 2000, Cadbury’s later discontinued the chocolate bar in 2008.
15. Playing huge games of hide and seek in the playground
Hide and seek is a classic childhood game which still remains a firm favourite with children today. In the 90s the game provided endless fun for kids who often played in huge groups on the school field.
16. Kickers
Kickers were a staple element of a school uniform for many children during the 90s. The shoes grew in popularity throughout the decade and before long you could buy coats, hats, bags and pencil cases from the brand.
Those of us who wore Kickers back in the day may also recall the running joke when wearing them at school. If someone asked you what shoes you were wearing and you replied “Kickers” you would soon be booted in the leg by them.
17. Trying your hardest to look like the Spice Girls
The Spice Girls were not only one of the most popular girl bands of the decade but they were also some of the biggest trendsetters. From platform shoes to Scary Spice’s jumpsuits, many teenage girls would do anything to dress up like the pop band.
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