THIS may strike a chord with you. They are meant to be among the happiest, but for many people, their school days were the stuff of nightmares a survey out today suggests.

Maths was the worst culprit with more than one in four people saying the subject left them in a cold sweat.

It wasn’t just the subject. Maths teachers topped the list of ‘nightmare teachers’ too.

Maths was never my strong point and I failed the O level four times, twice at grammar school and then twice at private school.

I even had private home tuition to help me get through, until our Jack Russell bit the tutor one evening and she never came back.

Despite mathematics being so unpopular, the adults questioned were three times more likely to bunk off PE lessons.

The survey also quizzed respondents on who would make up their dream staff room.

Answers included Stephen Fry for English, Professor Brian Cox for science, Johnny Ball for maths and Sir Steve Redgrave for PE.

My first week, aged 15, at the now defunct Homefield School involved me getting into (or rather provoking) a punch up on day one, leading a group bunk off on day four and being caned by the head, Mr P, on days two and five as a result.

All in all, I thought it was a fairly good effort on my part. Ah, those were the days. I loved them.