So the scenes in this selection of photos may well look strange and unfamiliar to those at school today.
But for others the pictures from the Evening News archive will bring back memories.
They are a vivid illustration of how different things were six or seven decades ago - not just the school settings, but the clothes the children wear and the atmosphere conjured up by the images.
Scroll through to glimpse again - or for the first time - school life in Edinburgh in the 1950s and 1960s.
Perhaps you can spot yourself - or your parents or grandparents - in the photos.
1. Portobello Secondary School
Portobello Secondary School: Girls at a cookery class in 1953 | TSPL Photo: TSPL
2. Gracemount Primary School
Children bring their offerings to the Harvest Festival service at Gracemount primary school, Edinburgh, in October 1968. | TSPL Photo: George Smith
3. Archbishop visits chemistry lab
Archbishop Gordon Gray of St Andrews and Edinburgh, later Cardinal Gray visits the chemistry department of St David's RC High School in Dalkeith after officially opening the school in October 1967. | TSPL Photo: Alan Ledgerwood
4. Murrayburn Primary School
Murrayburn School: Primary 7a2 - Mrs. Main's class - in June 1955. | TSPL Photo: TSPL