This is a somewhat pointless, but potentially amusing, list of fads and crazes that resulted in an item being banned from a typical comprehensive secondry school. It is not a complete list by any means, and only really includes toys and sweets that have been banned in recent years. I have include a description, the 'official' reason they were banned, and the 'real' reason I think they were banned.

Strange as it seems, but true. Plastic straws, filled with flavoured sherbet. They were avaliable in different luminous colours, each with a different flavour. However they were only avaliable from a town several miles away, and hence only the people who lived on that bus route were able to supply the sweets. These people would buy tens of pounds worth of these sweets (at 2p each) and 'deal' them at school at a profit. It was amazing to watch the popularity increase, there must have been something addictive in these sweets. The big time dealers on the bus route would start dealing direct (at 4p a straw), and then move on to wholesale to smaller dealers (100 straws for £3). There was an official approved dealer handshake, and such schemes as 'First five straws are free', to get people 'addicted'. The students (aged about 12) on the bus route were regularly taking home money in excess of £50, and the next day even more straws would appear. The whole school for a period of about a week was mob controlled. The official reason for the banning of sherbet straws was the 'litter situation', which was true, as the school was knee deep in luminous straws. I suspect that the real reason was to stop the huge amounts of money being brought into school. Even so, for some people this was best ever lesson on business ever taught...

The sudden rush to buy a virtual pet, to feed it, play with it, clear up after it and watch it grow every time into a large chicken before promptly dying at the age of 15 days. All in a pink blob shaped keyring. They decened on the school in their thousands where they were poked at during lessons. This was the official reason for them being banned, however i think that a student's outlived a teacher's.

The craze of Yo-Yos that could 'sleep' hit the school very hard. Every kid from age 11 to 14 had at least one. They could perform tricks, that always ened up with a complex looking tangle and a cry of 'I'll get it in a minute'. However with yo-yos flying in all directions, in already crowded school it was not long before they were banned indoors. But the story doesn't end there, they could still be used outdoors. In this case the official reason was the same as the real reason for them being banned. In what promised to be a spectacular trick both a small window and the deputy head took the brunt of a high velocity yo-yo. That was the end of that...

Possibly the most successful fad of the twentieth century (excluding text messenging, please see here), the TV, film, computer games, cards all made a merchandising heaven. The collecters cards were sometimes 'very valuable', and as always the arguments about playing for 'keeps' came about. They were banned in classrooms after a week, forcing the trading into the playground. Fights, theft and fallouts were all accredited to the cards, and this became the official reason for the banning. That or the teachers had confiscated enough valuable cards to make their fortune...