'All school din-dins, come from pig bins,' went the old playground song. But although the food – slopped out of metal containers – may not have been very appetising, children of the 1960s were probably fitter and healthier than their present-day counterparts.

Some children would go home for lunch and girls would often return home to cook a midday meal for the rest of the family. School dinners were available and around 20% of children had free meals. Food was a meat-and-veg hot meal, with dishes such as stews, shepherd's pie or sausages on the menu, accompanied by boiled vegetables or, occasionally, chips. For pudding there was tapioca, semolina ('frog spawn') or suet pudding with custard. Although heavy on carbohydrate, the meals were basically healthy and lower in fat than current school food. Children in the 1960s also did far more exercise.

Although some children bring a packed lunch and a tiny number go home for lunch, most children go to the school cafe and spend an average of £1.46 on a meal of their own choice.

Although healthy options are available, with 15% of 15-year-olds obese and only 6% of children choosing vegetables or salad, clearly foods like sausage sandwiches, crisps, cakes and chocolate are more attractive.

Around a fifth of pupils are entitled to an allowance towards school meals but often this isn't enough to buy much more than a sandwich so children go for cheaper but more filling alternatives such as chips.

Lots of activities were on offer after lessons were over for the day and 50% of children took part. There were film clubs, drama, school magazines and other special-interest associations.

In this era, the Girl Guides had a total membership of more than 600,000 members – over 25,000 of them 15- and 16-year olds. The Scouts was also incredibly popular with more than 500,000 members, over 50,000 of them being 15- and 16-year olds. These activities gave urban children a chance to get away from cities and go camping.

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Clubs and societies still thrive, although what's on offer varies widely from school to school. Children can choose from activities such as dance, chess, computing, sports, drama, jazz band, Duke of Edinburgh's Award and many others. Some schools run regular activities weeks and children are offered frequent opportunities to go on trips, either in the UK or abroad.

Today, the Guides still has around 600,000 members, although less of them (about 12,000) are 15- to 16-year olds. The Scouts has about 450,000 members, although again, less 15- to 16-year olds are members, with only 29,000 boys in this age group.