This photograph shows the girls who were the best gymnasts at Manchester High School in 1902 with two of their teachers. There are eight girls and they were known as the Gym Eight.
They are dressed in a gym uniform which was typical for girls in the Victorian period. In the foreground are Indian clubs which were used in gym lessons and displays. They are mentioned in the description of a gym display which appears below.
The gym teacher, Miss Bourne who is also mentioned in the description, is standing between the two girls in the middle row.
A gymnastics display by Year 6
This is a description of a gymnastics display by a Year 6 class at Manchester High School in 1901. Such displays were held every year and great pride was taken in the standard of performance.
The description shows what gym lessons were like in Victorian times. Although it was mainly a girls' school, boys were admitted to the Manchester High School Preparatory Department [the primary school] in the Victorian period.
The music struck up and in marched the first girls for the wand exercises.
Next came climbing. Picture it! Six girls and two boys squatting on the floor in front of two formidable ropes. Then, a signal from Miss Bourne and like monkeys two were half way up, right to the top, triumphant, sliding down with arms thrown out and back on the floor again panting.
Skipping followed, quite one of the prettiest events of the evening. One could not help feeling how much one had missed in childhood seeing the graceful turns and twists the girls were able to make in such perfect time and rhythm.
Quarter staff exercises were new to some of us. Perhaps the music was a little unnecessary here, the swish of the staves makes such an accompaniment in itself.
To us who are not athletic there is something fascinating about parallel bars. One watches the fearful and wonderful feats one would never dream of attempting to imitate. Nothing alarming happened, however, and the performers looked collected and happy.
Perhaps most excitement was shown over the flag race. Number One girl for each form seized a flag on the given signal, rushed the length of the gymnasium and back. Number Two seized the flag and did the same and so on until Number Six fell onto the rope in a dead heat.
Time forbids to speak of the hornpipe, the graceful bar exercises, club exercises and pretty figure - marching with which the display closed. Everyone clapped loudly at the end.