Picture the scene. A clear blue sky; a warm breeze. Historic school buildings. Girls in immaculate school uniform, studying hard, whilst one of their number waits nervously outside the Headmaster’s office to be punished.
Feels like the setting for one of my stories. Actually, it’s Warwick Academy in Bermuda which provides boys and girls up to the age of 19 with: “an education of a predominantly academic character following traditional lines… The school has an excellent reputation for its high academic standards, firm discipline, fine musical tradition and its comprehensive and compulsory extra-curricular programme.”
As the school handbook explains:
Warwick Academy is committed to the belief that discipline is essential to learning and growth… We also believe that positive reinforcement is better than punitive measures, but students who do not abide by the school rules will be disciplined. It is only through firm, fair, and consistent enforcement of our rules that we will create the appropriate atmosphere in the school. This must also include the provision for dealing with students on an individual and fair basis when the need arises.
A complex list of demerits is defined, and “Corporal punishment may be given by the Headmaster or a Deputy Head of School to a student guilty of fighting, smoking or speaking obscenities or other serious misdemeanours.
Or, as it’s put more succinctly elsewhere: “Students may be strapped for failure to adhere to the school’s Rules of Conduct at the discretion of the Headmaster.”
The record book captures “the date, the pupil’s name, the name of the person administering the punishment, the purpose and number of strokes, and the name of the teacher witnessing the punishment.” Meanwhile parents “will be informed by letter from the Headmaster of the reason for the punishment and the number of strokes given”
The girls’ uniform policy is also of interest. Here’s the winter outfit:
- REGULATION NAVY SKIRT purchased only at the English Sports Shop. Length within 2 inches of the centre of knee. Short skirts are not permitted.
- White Shirt: Long or short sleeve. No Round Collars.
- Knee Socks: Winter and Summer – navy.
- School Tie: To be worn to and from school, to Assemblies, and to all classes during the school day.
- Sleeveless Navy V-neck vest or Navy V-neck pullover. All must be in plain-knit. Zip-up hooded sweat tops, cardigans or crew neck sweat tops are not allowed.
- Hair clips etc., must be white, navy or brown.
- Plain DARK brown or black leather shoes. Suede, canvas or cloth shoes are NOT permitted. Shoes with extreme platforms and/or heels are not allowed. (Heels must not be more than 2 inches, measured from the crease.)
- Navy Blazer with school crest sewn on breast pocket.
- WINTER UNIFORM MUST BE WORN IN ITS ENTIRETY AT ALL TIMES.
In a disappointing omission, underwear seems to be unregulated.
I’m impressed, seriously impressed. The list of offences and number of demerits awarded shows that they mean business…
I’m also wondering what they’ll make of the unprecedented number of visitors to their website over the coming few days/weeks following your post!
After all those rules and regulations, if a girl can’t have choice of panties, then what’s left??
Spoken by a girl who was *meant* to wear ‘regulation’ (I can’t say the colour or it will give the game away to the locals) panties for 12 years.
Mine were blue and revolting, don’t think anyone wore them though, not after the first week or two of term, not sure because we didn’t spend a lot of time comparing knickers!
Didn’t they have you kneel down to measure the length of your skirt/dress? Some teachers would have a peek UP the dress!
Abel, how did you find the Warwick Academy website ? Where you googling for “Spanked Schoolgirls” again ?
We did have a set skirt length and it wasn’t unknown for teachers, or more often, teaching nuns, to measure to ensure they were the right length. I loved the challenge of never having the correct school uniform and never getting caught for it, I remember one time when I was accused of having the wrong length skirt, mine was too long, as was the fashion, I gave a big sob story about how my poor mother had spent days making the skirt and I couldn’t bear to have to tell her it needed altering… worked a treat!
Our school ties were also supposed to be tied so that the hanging down bit was a certain length… that never happened either!
Sarah: I never would have guessed in a million years that you were a rebel at school!! Making up sob stories like that to get your own way. Does your man know this side of you??? LOL
I was part of the lower sixth form when the sixth form sucessfully lobbied the headmaster for the sixth form to be allowed to wear our ordinary clothes, instead of the school uniform that the rest of the school wore
We lobbied on the grounds that ‘we can wear sensible, non-restrictive clothes, like trousers’
Shame that all the sixth formers then promptly started wearing mini-skirts and thing knickers…
On another matter – the lower school did have to wear white socks, not black. However, in our school, you only wore white socks whilst you were still a virgin. Hence practically every girl in the school wore black socks, so they didn’t get teased. Shame that mass school canings weren’t a feature!
At the store here where you buy uniforms they like to think they are keeping up with trends, so they will say, “What year is she?” “Oh, Year 11, then you need to buy the short socks. The long ones are out this year.” I am imagining them saying “you best get the black socks. Only the virgins wear white socks.” (Rapunzel, you so made that up!!! As a parent, please tell me you made this up!!!)
Rob: I was the rebel whom all the teachers thought was wonderful, I never got into trouble no matter what… should have done many times but it just never happened!
My man cartainly does know that side of me, not that I’d make up sob stories to get my own way now of course, the very thought! I think it was Abel’s suggestion that my past misdemeanours could be dealt with nowadays and that’s exactly what’s been happening, I remember some naughtiness from my school days and I get punished for it, better late than never. It works very well!
Sarah: I was always good at school. Really, I was. At the latest reunion the girls all said the same thing: “You were the good girl.” So moments like this, when I receive an email from the Head of Year saying the little darling didn’t turn up for a lunchtime detention, has me deciding on the most dire consequences this kid could ever imagine: no computer/games/MSN for a week!!
Rob,
I’m afraid I didn’t make it up. But the point was, 90% of us were virgins! Despite our black socks…
I remember listening goggle eyed as the first of my circle described ‘doing it’ with her boyfreind – and she was 15 and three quarters. I’m afraid we were all mouth and no action. Or is that all action and no mouth, ho ho!