No discussion of the school slipper would be complete without mentioning the member of staff most frequently associated with it:
the PE teacher.
Again, there were practical reasons.
PE lessons took place in an environment quite unlike an ordinary classroom.
Children were moving around.
There were changing rooms, playing fields, showers and gymnasiums.
Teachers had to supervise large groups engaged in physical activity.
And most importantly for our investigation, the entire department was surrounded by gym shoes.
If ever there was a natural habitat for the school slipper, it was the PE department.
