A recent post discussed the history of Lord Williams’s school. The site also includes an extract from the school rules of 1965; by then, “the cane was rarely used”, replaced instead by the following options:
– Extra duties in School House
– Handwriting tests with the copying of extracts.
– Essay writing – approved titles only
– Reporting at various times in different clothes – smartly
– Gating – boarders only
– Early bed-time and getting-up
– Running
– Cleaning of corridors etc.
– Gardening
– Rolling (the lawn and cricket field)
– Detentions
– Half-Term detention
– End of Term detention
– Send to H.M
– Removal of privileges
– Public works.
I’m guessing that “Send to H.M.” might explain the “rarely” in the phrase “the cane was rarely used.”
Running! I’d rather be thrashed to within an inch of my life than have to run anywhere… as long as the person thrashing me was completely sure they knew where the last inch of my life was of course!
Handwriting tests with the copying of extracts
Whoops…. hadn’t finished! What did I do there then? As I was about to say:
Handwriting tests with the copying of extracts – Not sure what it is about this sort of punishment but it does give me a rather lovely tingle, as does writing lines, perhaps in a special exercise book just for that purpose, there could be a caning to look forward to when the lines reach the middle of the book and a birching when having to go up to Sir and nervously request a new book when it’s full. that’d make for a well behaved young lady as the pages near their end wouldn’t it?
Half-term detention? I wonder, would that be detention every night for a whole half-term, or Detention over the half-term break? Either of those sound like punishments to dread!
I like Sarah’s idea there about a special line writing book! (Sorry if that came across as too familiar, but I thought “the above poster” sounded a bit too formal.)
Makes me sound a bit like something you’d stick on the wall too Jonny…not sure I’d like that!
I know in all the old school based story books I used to read, half term (for boarders at least) was often just a half day holiday when parents came to visit, perhaps that’s what it was, still pretty awful and no chance of keeping whatever the crime was a secret from ones parents either, making the end of term a new time for dread, as obviously you’d be punished again when they got you home!
*shocked* Those punishments are worse than spankings! At least whackings are exciting cardio-vascular trainings…
I wonder if it took them long to come up with such boring tasks…