I never had vaccinations at school. We just had to get them done at our regular doctor and then bring to the school nurse a form that said that we'd gotten them.
When I started grad school, the requirement was that everyone under 26 or something had to have had certain vaccinations in order to register for classes. One of the required ones was chicken pox. I'd never gotten the chicken pox vaccine because it came out when I was already in middle school or high school, and I had chicken pox when I was 4. I ended up having to get my pediatrician's office to find my old file and have them fax the records over to my grad school. (The other option was getting a blood test to show that I had the antibodies, or just getting the chicken pox vaccine even though I didn't need it.)
I had whooping cough a few years ago, even though I was vaccinated for that one -- the vaccine can wear off. That was horrible -- I spent about a week feeling like I could barely breathe. Plus, coughing hard enough that some blood vessels in my throat burst and I coughed up some blood. I cannot imagine having to be a kid and get that.