The British school dinner is a thing of legend, and while the modern pupil is often treated to far better school lunches than most of us ever were, the memory remains with us for many a year. For many people, one shrewd way to avoid the school lunches of the 80s and 90s was to bring your own from home. 

The packed lunch, however, came with its own many rituals and traditions, as well as having to make something of a fashion statement. It was a minefield all of its own! We take a look at some of the most nostalgic and funny little things that have graced lunch halls up and down the country. But how many do you remember?

Outlandish lunch boxes

These days, if you take your own lunch to work, you wouldn't dream of taking it in anything more colourful than a plain tupperware box. A colourful lid might, at a push, make an appearance if you're feeling particularly quirky. 

However, back in the 80s and 90s, lunch boxes were a statement, and there was one simple rule - the more outlandish the better. Whether your heroes were Power Rangers, Mutant Hero Turtles, boybands of the day such as 5ive or Disney princes and princesses, your lunch box was the only way to let everyone know!

Packing a punch with bright colours and a matching flask to boot, the primary school lunchbox really was a staple of the lunch hall. 

Dairylea Lunchables

As if kids don't already make enough of a mess, in the 1990s the geniuses at Dairylea came up with a new way to keep teachers on their toes. While the construction and design element of the Lunchable may have tapped into the creativity of school kids, the fiddly nature mixed with the natural clumsiness of many kids meant there was nary a lunch time passed without biscuit and cheese flying across the room. 

Still, who wouldn't take a Lunchables if offered right now? 

Pringles holder

Another staple of the humble packed lunch box, the free (with tokens, obviously) holder that came with a packet of Pringles for a period in the 90s was a god send to mothers. Quite who was sending their kids to school with free flying Pringles before they were released is not clear, but one thing is for sure, having one of these plastic holders meant everything. 

Free to express your individuality, there were so many different colours to choose from, and nothing was better than when you opened your lunch box to spot the little dish, knowing your mum had packed you just enough of the very best crisps around.

Yoghurts (or at least the aftermath) 

What is it with mums and trying to give teachers an extra something to worry about other than making sure their pupils were getting all the information needed in class? For some reason, parents love to pack messy items that can leave the lunch hall looking like a battlefield in the aftermath of a particularly nasty food fight. 

Yoghurts were one of the main offenders for this particular reason. Give a small child a little pot of fruity-dairy goodness and a spoon and they will endeavour to get it everywhere but in their mouth. The situation was only worsened when the humble yoghurt pot was usurped by Petit Filou''s invention the Frube. These bendy plastic tubes of yoghurt were not only susceptible to bursting in your lunch box, leaving your ham sandwiches with a distinct strawberry flavour, but they were impossible to eat, and especially to open, without getting yoghurt everywhere.