In the British radio comedy show, Cabin Pressure, the following exchange of dialogue occurs:
Martin: Your doctor? What doctor do you know?
Simon: Good old Doc Smiley, of course.
Martin: What, Nathan Smiley from school?
Simon: That’s right! Remember him, do you?
Martin: Of course I remember him, he threw my briefcase on the science block – and he’s a podiatrist!
Simon: And a bloody good one.
What does "science block" mean in this context? It seems to be some Britishicism, but I'm not entirely sure of the meaning.
Best Answer
As a British English speaker, I would use "science block" to mean "the science labs and classrooms in a secondary school" rather than a college or university (those I'd be more likely to call the "science department").
In this context it definitely refers to secondary school (that's ages 11 - 16).
Further, a "science block" has connotations of being in some way separated from the main school buildings (off to one side or a separate structure entirely) and I would picture a single storey building from that. Whilst it's not easy to throw a briefcase on top of a single storey building it's not impossible. And indeed, half the joke comes from the image - it takes a determined and/or a large and strong bully to do so.