According to one devotee of ancient games, hopscotch, skipping, London Bridge and hide-and-seek are actually a means of suppressing dominant characteristics among pupils.

Alison Dike has won a grant to promote traditional playground games in primary schools in Somerset in the hope it will curb bullying and promote greater co-operation among children.

Mrs Dike says many playgrounds today are dominated by one game of football, leaving those who do not want to play "pushed to the edges".

Pattercake, pattercake. . .

"But if you give dominant children something new to learn they have to relate to other children and learn to share and co-operate," she told the Daily Telegraph.

She has spent six months teaching pupils in four schools to play games such as jacks, skittles, cat's cradle, whipping tops, oranges and lemons, skipping and trap ball.

Everyone has fond memories of the school games they used to play, and BBC News Online wants you to e-mail in your favourites. To refresh you memory here are a few of the best known:

Hopscotch

A grid is chalked out on the ground with numbered boxes in a one-two-one formation. Players take it in turns to throw a stone into the grid and then make their way to pick it up by alternately hopping and standing astride in the squares.

But there are tempting alternatives to marbles

Having picked up the stone they must mark off the square and make their way back to the start in the same way. The game is over when all the boxes have been marked.

Skipping

A fun way to develop rhythm, although the slightest mistake is punished by a grazed knee on the asphalt, swiftly followed by a dab of yellow antiseptic cream from the school nurse.

A minimum of three players are required - two to wave the ropes and mouth repetitive chants while the other dances between them. Traditionally skipping is for girls only, but don't tell that to Prince Naseem Hamed or any other boxer.

British Bulldog

Notorious for being banned because of the heavy emphasis on violence and therefore unlikely to be one of Mrs Dike's chosen games.

Mrs Dike

The game begins as a kind of David and Goliath challenge, with one child standing alone as a mass of pupils charge directly at him. His job is to "bring down" as many as possible. Those caught then also assume the role of "catcher" against those that slipped through.

As if that were not violent enough, one variation has the catcher holding his victim, shaking him, spinning him round and dropping him.

It/Tag/Had

A perennial favourite, mainly because of its simplicity. You are "it", so you run around the playground until you "tag" someone making them "it". And so on_ Kiss chase is one popular variation, where the act of tagging involves kissing your victim.

Its quality for curbing dominant characteristics is undocumented but it certainly keeps children fit.

Marbles

Low on physical exertion, but good for hand-eye co-ordination. Marbles are small, hard balls made out of glass, steel, baked clay or even onyx. The object is to roll, throw or drop your marbles against those of your opponent, to knock them out of a prescribed area and so win them.

Mostly associated with children, marbles has in fact transcended the playground and national tournaments are held in many countries.

Traffic Lights

There are five colours: red, amber, green, purple and pink. A shouter calls out a colour and everyone else must perform the required action. Red is stop, amber is sit down, green is run, purple means jump and pink is hop furiously.

This is not played for competitive reasons so Mrs Dike, for one, will be pleased that it's the taking part that counts.

E-mail your playground games or memories to talking.point@bbc.co.uk