Individual Swiss State Schools: Russikon School

Figure 1.--Thus is a secondary school class during 1954 from Russikon, a town in the Zurich canton, a German-speaking canton. The name of the school is the same as the town, presumably because there was only one school there. The students are about 14-15 years old, but the school name in the notation does not include the word "Secondary". Perhaps Russikon had one school that taught both primary and secondary students. The girls are wearing bib-front pinafores looking more like aprons moters wore in kitchens. This apparently was a school requirement.

Thus is a secondary school class from Russikon, a town in the Zurich canton, a German-speaking canton. The name of the school is the same as the town, presumably because there was only one school there. The students are about 14-15 years old, but the school name in the notation does not include the word "Secondary". Perhaps Russikon had one school that taught both primary and secondary students. The girls are wearing bib-front pinafores looking more like aprons moters wore in kitchens. This apparently was a school requirement. One boy looks to be wearing an apron, but we think that they are actually baggy trousers. The date of the photo is November 18, 1954. The teacher. standing in the back row in a double-breasted suit with shirt and tie is Herr A. Schlatter. Most of the children are wearing wool sweaters. The boys seem to wear both short trousers and long trousers. In the front row, we see two teenage boys wearing both styles. One wears a woolen collared jacket with long trousers while the boy next to him of the same age wears the more conservative cardigan sweater over an uncollared shirt with heavy ribbed long stockings and boots (but with additional ankle socks turned down over his boot tops for extra warmth on his feet).

The Town

Thus is a secondary school class from Russikon, a town in the Zurich canton, a German-speaking canton.

The School

The name of the school is the same as the town, presumably because there was only one school there. The school name in the notation does not include the word "Secondary". Perhaps Russikon had one school that taught both primary and secondary students. Presumably the secondary section only provides the basic Sekundar program. For the more advanced program, the teenagers would have go to a school in a larger town or city.

Chronology

The date of the photo is November 18, 1954.

The Class

The teacher. standing in the back row in a double-breasted suit with shirt and tie is Herr A. Schlatter. The students are about 14-15 years old, They would be some of the older students at the school, but perhaps notthe oldest. A Sekundar program did not have the more advanced secondary program and thus there would not be older teenagers at the school. Of course by the 1950s the Swiss Government like other European countries was ecpanding secondaru education so we are not entirely sure.

Clothing

The girls are wearing bib-front pinafores looking more like aprons moters wore in kitchens. This apparently was a school requirement. One boy looks to be wearing an apron, but we think that they are actually baggy trousers. Most of the children are wearing wool sweaters. The boys seem to wear both short trousers and long trousers. In the front row, we see two teenage boys wearing both styles. One wears a woolen collared jacket with long trousers while the boy next to him of the same age wears the more conservative cardigan sweater over an uncollared shirt with heavy ribbed long stockings and boots (but with additional ankle socks turned down over his boot tops for extra warmth on his feet). We see this style of additional ankle socks quite often in Switzerland during the 1940s and 1950s. The long stockings are very tautly gartered, probably with what was known as a Strapsgurtel, a male garterbelt similar to what modern hockey players wear. The ribbing in this boy's stockings match the ribbing of his sweater. Maybe his mother knitted both the stockings and the sweater. This boy is probably too old to be wearing a Leibchen to keep his stockings in place. Notice that one boy standing to the left next to the teacher wears a sweater that is tucked into his belted trousers, which could be shorts, plus-fours, or long trousers. One girl wears knee socks while another wears striped anklets. A reader writes, "I found this page interesting, especially the 14 or 15 year old in his matching knit sweater and long stockings, and at such a relatively late date, 1954. Can you speculate on the color of the sweater and stockings?" Well HBC has no idea about the sweater. We would guess the stockings are either grey or a light brown shaade like tan.

Related Style Pages in the Boys' Historical Web Site
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Created: 4:44 PM 3/22/2009
Last updated: 6:50 PM 3/29/2009