The Slipper versus the Cane

Although the cane is usually considered a more severe instrument of punishment than the slipper, looking back on my own schooldays I have to say that it was the slipper that I remember as inspiring the greater fear. This was mainly because in the schools I attended the cane was reserved for the most serious transgressions and the average boy might get through his entire school career without once having to bend over for 'six of the best.' The slipper, on the other hand, was far more ubiquitous at my particular schools - and rare indeed was the schoolboy who did not feel that stingy rubber sole landing smartly across his backside at some time.

From the age of eight I attended a local dayboys-only preparatory school. There were several such establishments in my country town, and rather than preparing boys for entrance to public schools their purpose was to ensure that pupils passed the eleven-plus and got into the local grammar school. By investing in this prep school coaching, middle class parents could secure the trappings of a public school education, courtesy of the highly regarded state grammar, without the cost.

It has to be said that the slipper reigned supreme at my prep school. After all, parents paid the fees with every expectation that their son would be 'crammed' to pass the eleven-plus and the masters were more than willing to whack the necessary knowledge into their young charges if need be. You could be slippered for inattention in lessons, for sloppy work, for poor homework, for failing tests (of which there were many), for not trying hard enough, for laziness at games, for forgetting books or games kit, for not wearing your schoolcap - the list was endless. And believe me, the slipper hurt. I had never suffered any sort of physical chastisement at home so it was quite a shock to the system when I received my first whacking just a week or two into the first term.

I can't even remember the offence (it was a long time ago, after all) but I can recall vividly that those three hefty whacks across my regulation grey shorts from a size ten gymshoe hurt like hell. On top of that, my bottom went on throbbing for some time after I had returned to my desk. Following that first encounter with the dreaded slipper, I lived in daily fear of the next dose. However, given the long list of offences that might bring a slippering, my next whacking was not long in coming. As time went on, I suppose I became somewhat inured to the pain of a slippering, but like all my classmates I still lived in mortal fear of those dread words 'Step out to the front of the class, boy, and bend over.'

The worst slipperings were given by the games master. First of all, you usually got whacked across your thin cotton gym shorts which meant it hurt even more. And secondly, the games master possessed some really wicked old slippers with shiny smooth rubber soles. I suppose the only consolation was that I never got it across the bare bottom - that would have been murder.

Boys could also be caned by the headmaster, but such punishments were few and far between and it never happened to me. However, I can recall a memorable incident when a couple of boys in my year were reported for shoplifting during the lunchbreak. The eleven-year-olds were easily identifiable by their bright red blazers and caps and were marched back to the school by the irate shopkeeper who demanded summary justice. The headmaster gave the miscreants a very stiff six of the best apiece. I have a vivid memory of being shocked by the livid purple 'stripes' emblazoning their backsides when the class were changing for games the following afternoon; at the same time, most of us thought they well deserved the thrashing for bringing the good name of the school into disrepute.

All those slipperings must have encouraged me to work hard, for I passed the eleven-plus with flying colours and entered the prestigious local grammar school. This was a very traditional establishment with begowned masters and self-important prefects. The right to wield the cane was confined to the headmaster and assistant headmaster and none of the other teachers were authorised to inflict corporal punishment. However, the senior prefects (who looked like grown men to us shorts-wearing juniors) were permitted to give unofficial slipperings to boys from the lower forms. I say unofficial because no official records were kept of these 'executions'; however, the headmaster and his staff were well aware of what went on within the confines of the prefects' common room.

The prefects were able to impose essays and lines on other boys and these were often given for quite trivial offences. For example, I was given an 'impot' for not putting on my schoolcap directly I left the premises one lunchtime. A 'little Hitler' of a prefect had taken it upon himself to lurk by the main gates at lunchtimes, keeping a watch out for any such infringements of the rules. However, this was relatively small beer: fall foul of the prefects once too often and you were summoned to their common room for 'trial and execution.' This happened to me a couple of times and it was not a very pleasant experience. After a dressing down in front of the 'court' the sentence was pronounced and you were made to bend over a massive old oak table with your shorts about your ankles. One of the senior prefects then whacked you hard across your underpants with a heavy gymshoe.

The pain was indescribable and younger boys soon gave way to tears, despite the added humiliation of blubbing like a baby in front of the smirking prefects. Of course, they had every intention of making you cry - it seemed to amuse them - and after four or five hard whacks even the toughest boy found himself close to tears. Looking back, I suppose the fact that the boys who were now prefects had probably suffered such slipperings when they were juniors encouraged them to carry on the tradition. In a way a prefects' slippering constituted a sort of rite of passage at the school.

I shall conclude this account by recalling my first experience of the cane. This happened at the beginning of my second year at the grammar school when my form was involved in seriously ragging a rather ineffectual new master. Schoolboys can always sense when they are gaining the upper hand and poor Mr Watkin's geography class was soon reduced to pandemonium. I suppose he would have regained control eventually, but to the novice teacher's embarrassment and our misfortune the deputy headmaster, Dr Granville, came unexpectedly upon the scene. Without standing on ceremony, Dr Granville sent a boy off to fetch his cane and then we were all lined up for a mass whacking.

Although my turn came towards the end, the deputy head still appeared to have plenty of strength left in his caning arm. The three strokes stung most painfully and left me with a healthy respect for the cane - at least when wielded by an experienced practitioner like Dr Granville. I suffered a couple more canings during my time at the grammar, but that mass whacking has always remained the most memorable of them all.

So what is my conclusion as regards the cane versus the slipper? Well, the cane is always guaranteed to sting, and given a good springy rod and a good aim, even a slightly built middle-aged man like our grammar school deputy head was able to impart unbearable smarting pain in a miscreant's backside with just a modicum of effort. The slipper needs a bit more practice and expertise to use effectively, but when applied accurately by a strong arm it can leave the victim feeling as though he has just sat down on a red-hot brazier.

'You pays your money and you takes your choice' - although in my case I had no choice in the matter!