A survey, exploring our memories of school, has revealed that 63 percent of adults in London claim that PE was the worst thing about school, with modern kids having no idea how awful it was.

Among the most loathed aspects of old school PE lessons was the shame of being one of the last to be picked for a team (43 percent), forgetting your kit and having to wear lost property (34 percent), being made to feel utterly inadequate by the teacher (31 percent) and the embarrassment of having to get changed in front of your class (28 percent).

The meanness of PE teachers (36 percent), coming last in the long run to the patronising sound of clapping (33 percent), and forgetting your kit and having to wear ill-fitting, smelly items from lost property (34 percent) also featured high for people in London.

The study by myphizz, a new app to support schools in improving the mental and physical wellbeing of pupils, also found that memories of the inevitable post-lesson cold shower (10 percent), being made to climb a rope in the hall (16 percent), and having to wear plimsolls (7 percent) all still send a shudder down the collective spines of millions of UK adults.

Little wonder then, perhaps, that 63 percent of adults in London believe that the unpleasantness of school PE lessons affected how they thought about exercise for years to come.

A spokesperson for myphizz, said: “We were shocked to see how many people in London had a bad experience of PE whilst at school and how this has affected their attitude towards exercise later on in life.

“Thankfully, PE has come a long way from the days of pommel horses and smelly plimsolls and advances in technology like myphizz have meant that schools and teachers have more tools available to engage students in an active curriculum.”

Almost one in three (31 percent) adults in London said the torment of PE had made them feel like being active could never be fun, while 30 percent claimed it had put them off exercise for life.

And when it came to sports days, instead of being excited and pumped about the big day, 53 percent confess they dreaded it.

Olympic sprinter Adam Gemili who has teamed up with myphizz said: “The mental and physical wellbeing of children has never been more crucial; with lockdown restrictions having a negative impact on activity levels, many children are now sadly not meeting the recommended level of exercise.

“myphizz gives children autonomy and empowers them to manage their own levels of physical activity through choosing exactly the types of exercise they enjoy. Whether they’re completely new to physical activity and enjoy inventing their own fun and wacky physical challenges or they’re an aspiring athlete – myphizz is an inclusive and fun tool that connects like-minded kids and allows them to find friends with shared interests.”

However, according to the data, a staggering 86 percent of the parents in London polled said they thought their own children have it so much better when it comes to PE than they themselves did when at school.

57 percent believe that PE lessons today are much more dynamic and fun, 47 percent like the fact that their children have more activities to choose from and 43 percent believe that modern PE teachers are so much more encouraging than ones from back in the day.

Two in five (41 percent) parents in London believe that PE today is so much more inclusive, and 25 percent think that the clever use of goals and targets keeps their kids motivated, and 18 percent believe that students are less likely to be picked on these days.

89 percent of modern London parents think that technology, such as apps that allow children to compete against each other and find new friends who like the same sports, help make exercising more fun.

Other haunting memories of school PE include cross country races (17 percent), being tripped up during matches (10 percent) – and the indignity of being made to pay rounders (12.8 percent).

While over a third (37 percent) of Londoners shudder when they remember having to run the 1,500 metres.