Historical Punishment: Boarding Schools for Girls

As promised last week, here is an extract from one of the book we unearthed in the fine private library where we are members.

This comes from “Public Schools for Girls”, ed. Burstall and Douglas; 29 June 1911.

It is hardly too much to say that, apart from orphanages and certain schools of restricted scope, public boarding schools for girls did not exist in England before 1870. Private boarding schools, of every degree of merit and demerit, were plentiful, and offered almost the only alternative, before 1850, to home education.

In most cases, the training provided by these private schools was, intellectually, an extension of the teaching by governesses and masters at home: manually and physically an extension of family discipline.

Aaah, yes. I can well imagine a girl’s parents having long conversations by the fire about how they should like to find a school for young Millicent that would keep her under the firm control she is used to at home.

The dormitories, it seemed, were particularly strictly governed:

“The rule that no girl is to enter another girl’s cubicle is very strictly enforced; in some cases it is the only rule…

In many instances, absolute silence is required in all dormitories; in others, speaking is restricted, for example after all girls are in bed, conversation is allowed for a fixed period, which is rarely exceeded…

The enforcing of rules and order in the dormitory is in most cases entrusted to elder girls, specially appointed for this purpose.”

I imagine, these elder girls would be exempt from the rule that proscribes entering another girl’s cubicle. A curtain would be drawn after she entered, and the whole dorm would hear, but not see, the cane cracking down onto their friend’s bottom.