Is chalk used in schools anymore?

When I went to my south London schools, it was always very evident.

I used it on my first day – as a drawing implement where I depicted my mum looking like a giant potato with no arms – and on one of my last days, when I had a piece imbedded into my skull, thanks to a particularly irate music teacher. 

Having had a mis-spent youth, my O-level results were reflected by the amount of chalk inside my waistcoat and behind my ears. 

During my O-level year there was so much chalk on my hands, anyone would have thought I’d taken up weightlifting. 

Chalk was much in use in my school playground.  You knew who was best at maths as the hopscotch grids went in the correct numerical order.

One of our class’s dads was a toy salesman; with a stolen set of Crayola multi-coloured chalk, we had yellow penalty areas, turquoise lines outlining the Double Dutch rope-swinging area and purple stumps.

We were the ‘60s equivalent of Kerry Packer!