Medicals Exams in the UK

I know there are a few threads on school medicals but this one is specific to the UK. I wondered if anyone here ever had or knows anyone who had a school or university exam in the UK? If so-where abouts was the school, how old were they, what year did this happen and could you give some information as to exactly what happened and how they/you felt about it? Was it compulsory, did you undress etc...

I only ask because I never had so much as my height taken at school in north london (mid 90's). Shortly after meeting my girlfriend we were talking about stuff and somehow we got on to the subject of her school exam. She isnt into med fet and didnt know i was but I managed to get her to tell me all about it and was slightly shocked to find out that exams like this do happen in schools in the UK!

She went to a high school near Dundee in Scotland. She was 17 apparently (so in her final year) and this was the late 90's/early 00's. She told me that a letter had been sent home informing them and their parents that the school doctor would come in to update the pupils medical records. Apparently the school dr or nurse had been in a few times previously and had checked their height/weight and blood pressure but that was it so my GF didnt think much of it.

A few weeks later at morning registration notes were handed out to her and her classmates with a time that they should go to the medical room for their health checks. She told me she left her English lesson at 1130 to go down. She said that the nurse was outside and told her to take a seat whilst the dr finished with the previous pupil. Apparently this is when she became nervous as the door opened and a girl in her year quickly walked out stareing straight down at the floor looking slightly red and embarrassed!

My GF was called into the room and a male dr, apparently mid 30's, shook her hand and explained that he would perform a physical exam on her. Still not quite sure what was to happen she was asked if she wanted the nurse to remain in the room but declined. The doctor then apparently pointed her to a screen in the corner and asked her to undress behind it. She told me that she asked the dr why and said that she wasnt comfortable undressing completely so the doctor asked her if she would go as far as her underware instead. She agreed to this and undressed to her bra and knickers, apparently still rather unhappily and very nervously!

The dr checked her height/weight/blood pressure and breathing with a stethascope then asked her to squat slightly and hold her arms out whilst he felt her arms and legs. She told me she was a little uncomfortable with him checking her inner thighs as he felt all the way up over her groin and buttocks. He also had her touch her toes so he could feel her spine which she was very embarrassed about as she only had a thong on so knew he had a fair view of her bum! He then had her stand infront of him whilst he sat in a chair and felt her tummy and apparently even pulled her belly button open a bit!

She was then asked if she checked her breasts. They spoke about breast health for a moment before he asked her if she would let him perform a quick check. She said he was very kind and reassuring about it and asked if she wanted the nurse present, which she declined again (she said that she was embarrassed enough being examined like this by 1 person, let alone 2!) She felt that she couldnt really refuse the exam so took off her bra and was asked to lie on the couch with her arms above her head. He felt her armpits, breasts and nipples and also felt her tummy again as she was laying down.

Finally, he asked her to sit up and asked if she was sexually active. She replied that she was and he offered her an STI and general sexual health check but informed her that this would require 'further undressing'. She absolutely refused this(!) and was told that she could dress and go-and that everything was fine and healthy.

She told me that she found the entire experience very embarrassing and intrusive. Whilst she said it wasn't exactly compulsory (if she had refused then they wouldn't exactly have tied her down or anything!) and the dr was very pleasant she still found the fact that she had no idea of what it would involve and had to disrobe very un comfortable.

As I said, I never had anything like this in my north london school and wondered if anyone else in the UK had anything like this at school or university?

Awsome! I would love to hear more real stories like this.

In one of the scandinavian countries it is up to each county to decide which examinations to have for school.

A few have puberty assessment at ages around 17, when students leave high school. Years ago, a few of the girls told us this:

It was examination day for the girls and when they got into the nurse's office one at a time, there was a doctor and the school nurse. They were asked to undress to bra and panties and went through the routine examination with height and weight etc. At the end there was the back check / scoliosis and after that some of the were asked to turn around and face the doctor who had then sat down on a chair.

To their shock and embarrassment the doctor then pulled down their panties to mid-thigh and just looked. After that it was "ok you can get dressed". They never had to remove their bras, just a few of the girls got their panties pulled down.

They were very upset afterwards and talked about it a lot. Everyone thought the doctor did that on all the girls with smallish breasts, because it didnt happen to the girls with bigger breasts.

My memory is quite hazy now but at the age of 14 I had a medical at school in Manchester, England.

My class were asked to sit in a waiting room dressed in just our underpants (briefs) and we were called in one at a time to be checked by a female doctor and a female nurse. As I said my memory is vague and I do know at one medical (maybe this one, maybe not) I was asked to lean forward and grip a chair after having my spine checked and at this point the doctor pulled my undies down and looked at my anal area.

I was then asked to stand up and face the doctor. I vaguely recall the nurse (again, maybe this one, maybe one at another medical) making an effort to appear not to stare too hard to spare my blushes. The doctor manhandled my bits and did the hernia check (the old 'cough and drop').

It was over quite quickly and only slightly embarrassing, although if a teacher had been in the room it might have been worse.

I sometime wondered what would have happened if a boy got an erection as there was only one door in and out of the room and there would not have been much time spare to allow the boy to come down in his own time.

In those days I was quite naive and innocent and the doctor could have done anything to me and I would not have objected and if it had been a group exam and all naked I don't know if I would have complained. If that had happened and I told my mother she probably would have laughed.

"Skin": I think that you are right, you have not told us in what year it happened but in my memory, when I was a student in France which is in the first part of the 60's,I would have obeyed if I was instructed to strip completely for a physical, even in a large group of classmatesand in presence of the male PE teacher.

You were used to do what adults were instructing us to do! and shyness and modesty were not well considered.

And it is true that if I had related the physical at home to my parents, my mother would have certainly laughed because the modesty of boys was not so important for her.

My father would have said to me that it was a good experience to be prepared to the physicals for military service which were always performed naked and in group.

I have a faint memory of standing in line in vest and pants at age 11 ish to see a school doctor who had a quick look down there but didn't do much else. Much later on at about 17 ish I had the cough whilst having balls cupped procedure because I went on a school mountaineering trip at high altitude and we all had full physicals. My memory of these things is pretty faint to be honest both were in the 90's and I was shy as a kid so blanked it out in my mind.

Exams were preformed in school but think not done now due to costs above all else. Jill

School medicals are no longer as common now as they were, I seem to remember them being every couple of years and certainly when moving from primary to secondary school. My first in secondary school exam was how i got interested in medfet as it was the first tome that i had my testicles examined - by what i recall as an older woman doctor (who in reality was probably in her 30s!) who had me stand in front of her in my underpants while she remained seated in her chair. Without warning she pulled my pants open and had a good grope. I remember particularly that she stared straight ahead and didn't actually look. Whilst i had been warned by a friend who had been in earlier, i think the surprise ttok over from any eroticism. Unfortunately, i don't recall any school doctor being so thorough agin!

I did read that annual medicals with the doctor in the UK were abandoned beause the number of 'faults' found were minimal in relation to the cost of these exams.

I guess the school exminations were dropped for the same reason.

I am obviously from another scandinavian country than the writer above. We still have regular school physicals up to 18 years of age. The procedure is, however, pretty much alike what was described in the first message. Physical exam includes, at least, a visual inspection of genitals and growth of pubic hair. Breasts exam for girls is typical between ages 15 and 18.

Hi Jason, like your girlfriend i too grew up in Scotland and ican confirm that her experiences of school medicals was right, i experienced them myself, just a little earlier, more like early 90s.

Drrvik, a thorough exam for adolescents almost requires to drop underwear although it may be slightly 'tough' during that age.

And, for sure, it's nowadays very different than what it was about 10 or 15 years ago. In many countries there are no school physicals at all which is a great shame. In countries where they still exist, they are in many cases, how can I say, less extensive.

Here's a story about what happened to me in England. I was 11 and had just started at a new school when all my class received letters saying we needed to go for a school medical. They were to be held at a city centre clinic and we needed to be accompanied by a parent.The day came and we arrived at the clinic to be directed to the appropriate office. As we walked in my face dropped - there sat only in white underpants was one of my classmates. I immediately realised I faced the same embarrassment of being seen like this not just by a doctor and nurse but also by other parents and some of my classmates. Very soon, the nurse appeared, told me to take everything off except my underpants and then wait there. She asked my classmate to come across the room where I could see her weigh him, measure him and test his eyesight. I finished undressing - leaving just my brief white underpants on and sat down, not knowing what to say to my mother. Then the office door opened and another of classmates emerged - again in just his underwear. He'd just seen the doctor.Soon it was my turn as I puzzled over why a boy had to be in his underwear to have his eyes tested. And then walking past my classmate who was now dressing, it was into the doctor.

He listened to my chest, tested my reflexes and then suddenly reached over and eased down my underpants. He quickly felt my testicles and examined my penis before asking me to cough. Then it was all over and he told me I could go and get dressed. Another classmate had now arrived and I could see the look on his face as I emerged nearly naked. I'd never been as embarrassed but I knew I'd also enjoyed it. Maybe the others did too but we never mentioned that afternoon to each other again

Your story is interesting and certainly true since you were only 11 old age.

I presume that even at that age, it was embarrassing to undress into underwear in front of some classmates and more over in front of their mothers,but may be not in front of yours at 11 age, at lerast when keeping an underwear.

your modesty was not taken in account when you were instructed by the nurse to undress in the waiting room because the eyes test did not require that you were already undressed. It seems that she did not mind a lot about your modesty.

Nevertheless, it would have been worse if you have been instructed to strip completely for being weighted for example and to sit naked in the waiting room before it was your turn to enter in the exam room or if two boys would have ben examined together or if your mother would have come with you in the exam room.

I'm 20, UK, and never had anything beyond an eye test at about age 9, and the usual TB / meningitis / tetanus jabs.

Had various school medicals at primary and one when starting grammar

In the UK we regularly had school medicals. At 5 it was boys and girls together just in under pants then in 1 at a time to see the Dr. She checked everything and then, much to my embarrassment pulled my pants forward and looked down at my penis. Some of the other boys said they had had their pants dropped further for a proper look if there was something of interest. One of the girls did admit that they had to lower their pants too.

The next medical was age 11, but involved no genital exam.

At 12 we got our first proper exam. 4 boys at a time in to the medical room, undress to underpants and then 1 at a time to the Dr. Normal examination then with slight of hand your pants vanished to the floor and you had your testicles examined and had to cough. Once finished you dressed and left whilst another boy was examined and a new victim entered the room. It was a conveyor belt. There was no problem in being naked in front of each other as all our changing rooms were open-plan, we were forbidden to wear underwear beneath any sports kit and communal showers after exercise were compulsory too.

We got the same exam again at 14, but this time there was the added concern of getting an erection. Never happened to me but was reported about one classmate - he was mortified!

Just an everyday tale of school medicals in the UK in the 60s and 70s.

Sounds about right that. Very similar to mine except had each year intill grammar then just once

As I only just joined, I hadn't realised there was a thread for UK schools. I have posted my experiences of these under 'School Medical Examinations'(post#109)

As has been said, compulsory examinations have been abandoned in the UK (this happened, from what I gather, in 1974, though things may have been different in Scotland, which would explain why Jason's girlfriend was examined) but there is still legislation in place that allows for examinations to be carried out if there is specific concern for a child's health.

I think they may still be done on an ad-hoc basis. A niece of mine went on a school trip abroad in the mid-80s when she was about 12 and, as a condition of this, had to undergo a medical. She was thoroughly examined at the school by a female doctor.

Whatever is said about the value of these checks, I think the main reason they are no longer done is because of the cost.

I was examined at age 5 and again coming up to 16. Though no boys were examined at my primary school at age 11, all the girls were. I was told this was done by a female nurse and doctor, with the girls stripped to their knickers. I presume the doctor looked at everything, but my source at the time was too shy to tell me, and I was too shy to ask!

I wasn't over-keen on these inspections at the time but I think they have a lot of merit and should be re-instated. It won't happen, but if it did it should be done more privately; Nowayback's experience sounds horrendous. School clinics did seem to have a bad reputation in the 60s.

It seems odd that blood pressure wasn't usually checked (though Jason's girlfriend's was) and that's a good basic check. It seems the emphasis, for boys anyway, was on testicles and hernias!

I wish I was your gf who had that done and I would have taken all of my clothes off and went through the whole exam including the general sex health check. I would have loved it

My first encounters with a doctor at school would have been at primary school, and other than remembering my mother attended I can't recall anything about it at all, so presumably nothing happened worth sticking in my mind or I have shocking memory at least.

I do remember the exam I had at middle school however. My age would have been around 10/11/12 at a guess and involved the girls at least undressing to our knickers and cardigans only and the exam was carried out by a female doc in my case at least. Other things may have been done too, but we read an eye chart, had our ears checked, maybe some limb stretching but the big shock at the end was having to move our top aside and then our knickers so she could have a look to see how we were developing! Nothing more than Iook in my case but maybe other girls expereinced far more....i never asked at the time because it was all a bit embarrassing.

We had other med checks afterwards but these were limited to eyetests and an injection around 14 but nothing more of interest, but there was always the niggling doubt in the back of my mind such an event may happen with as little warning as the one we had at middle school.

At university there was no exams required but we were invited to see the visiting uni nurse on enrolling- especially the women- but this was purely an invitation for a "friendly chat" but because I was an older mature student I was encouraged for a smear test. This wasnt a required at all and only applied to myself because I was older than most who attended, but I still agreed because its hard to say no in that situation.

Thats my story for the record.

As somone from north of the border I can vouch that these still take place in Scotland, having atttended school a little later than Jason's girlfriend below.

Our physicals at secondary school were done in a group during a PE class. We stripped down to our boxers in the changing room and then walked the short distance down the corridor to the gym. On a couple of occasions some of the girls must have heard what was happenning as they'd come into the corriodor and were wolf whistling as we went down which gave me a hard-on before I'd even got in. Unfortunately I never found out when it was the girls turn so I never got the chance to have a look the other way on!

Once we were in, we lined up and had the nurse taking basic measurements, height, weight and also waist, as well as having blood pressure taken. We also had a blood sample taken as well as giving a urine one behind a screen. We then moved from station to station where we were examined for different stuff. One doctor got us to bend over and touch my toes while he ran his fingers down our spine and also had me stand up staright while he looked around, presumably for scoliosis. Another examined my eyes and ears with a torch, as well as looking into my mouth and getting to me to say arrr. Another stethed our chest, back and stomach while standing up. I then hopped onto a bed while the doc pushed down and palpated over my stomach before putting his hand under the waistband of my boxers and then pulling them down to check over my junk. I then had to hop off the bed and was asked to turn and cough for the hernia check and could then put my boxers back on.

TBH it wasn't too embarrassing as we'd all seen each others stuff in the showers.

Here are some of my true experiences of school medicals in the UK in the 1980s. I am fairly sure that such exams no longer occur in the state school system anymore.

My first school medical exam was when I was at a small primary school at the age of eight. I was rather overweight and I suspect that was the reason for the exam – since very few other kids were examined during my time there. The exam was very brief I took off my shoes and school blazer and was weighed and my height was measured by the regular school nurse. Then with my mother I went into see the doctor a very kind elderly lady who asked me to lift up my shirt whilst she listened to my heart and chest. That was about it (my class had previously receive eye and dental checks) so I guess that is why she did not bother with this. She was very kind and told me that I needed to lose some weight and was to cut out biscuits and crisps from my diet and to eat fruit and vegetable instead. This is exactly what I did and lost loads of weight over the next year and have never put it back on as I continue to be strick with my diet and exercise – I was also getting fed up with being called fatty or tubby or chubby boy all the time.

At the age of eleven I moved onto a medium sized comprehensive school in a town about 20 miles north of London. Although it took me a while to settle in I was happy enough there – it was well run and discipline was fairly tight. For the first two years my only interaction with the school health service was for vision and hearing tests as well as for the occasional jab. When I entered the 3rd year aged around 14 about ten new boys entered our year because of the closure of a nearby smaller school. Six week into the new term the teacher handed out letters to all the new guys and a similar number of the original year including myself. The letter explained that we would receive a school medical examination in a couple of week time. I did not think anymore of it and like most letters forgot to take it home. The week the medicals started a list was put up on the notice board of who was having a medical and on which day. There was some discussion as to what it involved but like myself most of the other guys thought it would be a simple weight and height check as in primary school.

My medical scheduled for the afternoon and I went down to the nurse’s room and waited outside until one of my close classmates turned up with his mother who I also knew. At this point a brisk nurse opened the door and said that we should have knocked rather than just waited outside. On entering the first thing I noticed was the heat in the room and the second more surprising/disturbing thing was seeing two semi naked boys in the room. One was a classmate of mine sitting on a chair directly opposite me wearing only red briefs and the other was a guy I recognised from two years above standing upright having his height measured, he was stripped down to a pair of tight blue briefs. There were two nurses in the room and another woman who turned out to be the mother of the older boy. My mate and I looked aghast at each other as we realised that soon we would also be down to our undies in front of all these people especially my mate’s mother.

We were initially told to sit down on the spare chairs fully clothed while the nurses got on with the other exams. Soon red briefs was told to go through to the exam room and my attention then focused on the older boy - he was well developed and I watched intently as he was weighed and then as he went behind a screen to produce a urine sample. At this point I was told to strip off and place my clothes under my chair – the nurse said that I could keep my underpants on which at the time I thought was a bit self-evident. I found it very embarrassing to strip in front of everyone and tried to keep my back to them all as much as was possible I remember the nurse telling me to hurry up as I must have been reluctant to finally drop my trousers. After stripping to my white underpants it was my turn to be weighed and measured - the weighing machine seemed very old and used metal weight that were moved along a steel rod until it balanced. During this time red briefs emerged from the exam room looking a little flustered and avoided all eye contact and rapidly got dressed - he was soon replace in the doctors room by the older boy and his mum. I popped behind the screen and gave a pee sample (no nurse in attendance like I have read in other postings) and was then told to sit back on my chair. I could hear the muffled sounds of the older boy and his mother talking to the doctor in the adjacent room and remember something about a bad stomach bug a few months ago – after that the talking seemed to stop. Soon afterwards the older boy emerged from the room with an expression between shock and embarrassment and my careful distant inspection of his delightfully bulging briefs confirmed an obviously developing or perhaps diminishing erection which I found exciting. His mum emerged about 3 minutes later and left before her son had fully dressed - I passed the older guy in the corridor the next day he was with his mates and gave me a look of “if you say anything I will kill you”.

Next it was my turn to go into the exam room - the doctor was a middle aged man but I really do not remember anything else about him. He said very little to me during the exam and was perhaps happy not to have a curious parent in the exam room with him. He said that we did not need to bother with an eye test as there had been one done in the school a few weeks previously. He then looked through my hair (I guess for nits) looked into my ear canals, made me open my mouth and depressed my tongue with a wooden stick and made me say the traditional aarrh. After that he palpated the lymph nodes under my jaw and in my axillae. This was followed by him auscultating my heart and lungs from the front and back with a stethoscope whilst I was asked to take deep breaths in and out. At this point I had kind of relaxed and was almost enjoying the experience especially as I had lost loads of weight and was less ashamed of my body. I was then asked to bend over and he ran his thumb and fingers down my spine from neck to the base he then asked me to turn around so he could palpate my abdomen both right and left. Then without saying anything he pulled out the waist band of my briefs and looked down at my genitals – my heart skipped a beat I could not believe what was happening. I could feel my face redden as I stared down at my flaccid penis and watched as he put his hand down the front of my underpants past my penis and gently palpated each of my testicles one at a time rolling them slowly between his thumb and two fingers. This seemed to go on for ages but I am sure it was only a few seconds and I was so shocked that I did not get aroused at all. He then took his hand out and released my waistband - he did not examine my penis at all.

After that he asked me to lift up my feet so he could look at the soles – this was followed by checking my balance and finally a hearing test where I had to repeat words he whispered – I remember my voice was so shaky as I was still completely taken aback by the genital exam – I really was quite innocent and naive in those days. After that he told me it was all over and I could go back to the other room and tell the next boy to come through.

I returned to the nurse’s room - and told my mate to go through to the doctor - as he passed by me in his tight white briefs I so wished that I could have gone into the exam room with him instead of his mother.

I had a second school medical two year later - but I may do a separate post on that.

Wow anglesboro, your story is so great!! i wish you'll find the time to tell us about the other exam at 16

thanks

Thanks for your kind words avnerico - I certainly will get around to the next instalment ASAP

I have posted my story of my school medical elsewhere on this site, and yes we had them at secondary school in Yorkshire at age 11 14 and 16. They were done in underpants and on each occasion the old Dr (a different old Dr each time) had a good feel of the balls and puled the foreskin right back.

Many on here observe that apart from in Scotland where they still take place school medicals were phased out for cost reasons in the late 1970s .

That leads me on to the purpose of this post. I was chatting to a prison medical officer the other day in a professional capacity and he described some elements of his work and how it had changed in over 30years in the same role. He has to examine all new inmates at the point of admission and in this particular location they are all males. I suggested they would be all quite healthy and he assured me that was far from the case. Apart from the obvious drug and alcohol abuse & STDs he commented that he saw many with congenital abnormalities, the most common being phimosis (ultra tight foreskin). Other genital abnormalities were also common as were defects of the feet caused by fashion shoes. These were all in the 18-40 age group.

As discussion progressed it became obvious that these were not new to this generation but in the past would have been picked up by routine medical examinations at school and appropriate action taken.

Makes you think they were worth all the embarrassment and there were genuine reasons for them apart from setting some of us out along the Med Fet road.

[quote author=Yorkieuk link=topic=23360.msg381723#msg381723 date=1315394205]

he commented that he saw many with congenital abnormalities, the most common being phimosis (ultra tight foreskin).

[/quote]

I'd be somewhat wary of accepting the phimosis conclusion, as this is far too often given as reason for performing circumcisions. If one is inclined to believing circumcision to be a necessary condition, then that person will invariably see phimosis almost everywhere. This often turns into a question of belief, rather than of true medical necessity.

I have to agree with agracier that clinically insignificant phimosis is over-diagnosed and that circumcision is not an appropriate treatment. If the foreskin is only moderately tight then it can be stretched by placing your fingers inside and gently pulling in opposite direction in different planes after showering. If done systematically over a number of weeks to months the skin will stretch sufficiently in most cases. Some people alos advocate topical steroids cream to "thin" the skin and make it more compliant to the stretching process - there is plenty of info on the web about this.

Yorkieuk - I loved you description of your school medical - very similar to my own

I had a medical exam in a UK school in about 2006. Not everyone in the school had to go and I dunno why I was picked, but I got a slip calling me out of class at such and such a time.

When I arrived there were two doctors, one of whom took notes and the other who did the exam. I got down to my boxers and they did the exam.

Genital exam was just a hand down the boxers, but after feeling around for a couple of minutes, the one doing the exam said something to the other and I was asked to take my boxers off.

Interesting story fennf - was this a private school or a school in Scotland? - I didn’t realise that school medicals were still occurring in the UK - what age were you when you had the medical? I assume this was in a secondary school and were medical routinely performed in the school?- I would be interested to hear more.

I was sixteen. Not sure if exams were routinely done. This was in an English state school. Anything more you wanna know?