Remembering the skipping games and clapping songs we played at school

Reminiscing about your school days can bring back a roller coaster of emotions, from those lengthy lessons and difficult exams, right through to the life-long friendships you made and fun sports you played.

But it’s the playground games that hold a special place in many people’s hearts – especially skipping tournaments and clapping games with friends.

Clapping games varied from fairly simple routines, to more complex ones, with popular songs to accompany them – the perfect chance for kids to practice some multi-tasking and engage in some healthy competition.

They first found popularity in the 1960s, starting in England and soon spreading around the world – and the best part was, you didn’t need any equipment to play with, just a willing partner to join in the fun.

The most basic hand clap saw two people (after all, age doesn’t need to be a factor here), standing opposite each other. Each person holds both hands up in the air, with their palms facing their partner, before clapping each other’s hands. They then clap their own hands and repeat the motion, forming the foundation of more difficult routines and games from there.

Read more: Remembering the schoolyard games of our childhood

Of course, they didn’t always stop with just two people, and more challenges saw multiple friends form a circle and try it out – even incorporating different body parts such as their knees and elbows, with some fairly impressive results.

When it came to the songs and chants, one of the most popular was the ‘Miss Mary Mack’ routine, with the lyrics including: “Miss Mary Mack, Mack, Mack. All dressed in black, black, black. With silver buttons, buttons, buttons. All down her back, back, back.”

Meanwhile, skipping became a huge hit in the playground too – with nothing but a long piece of rope providing hours of entertainment for students of all ages.

While it’s possible to skip on your own, it was much more fun when the whole playground got involved, with two people taking each end of the rope and swinging it round in large circles.

As they kept up a steady rhythm, kids would jump in and attempt to jump at each turn without hitting the rope, while their friends sang instructions to them or counted how many turns they could manage.

A popular song for younger kids was “Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear”, with kids having to try and touch their toes, reach their arms up, touch the ground and more on each turn of the rope. To make things harder, there were some particularly talented kids who managed to swing two ropes at once, while some managed to get several kids jumping at the same time too.

What are your memories of skipping and clapping games in the school playground?