DisciplDiscipline within the Lower School

I held the post of assistant headmaster in an inner city boys' grammar school during the 1970s. Our intake had all passed the eleven-plus and were therefore considered bright enough for a selective education. On the other hand, they were a tough bunch of lads, many from adjoining council estates, and it was my job to instil discipline and obedience into the new intakes, so that they settled down quickly and began to work hard at their lessons and homework. The headmaster was content to leave the discipline of the lower school in my hands. What mattered to him was that by the time a boy graduated from short trousers he had had any undesirable traits ironed out of him. He might still be one of nature's malcontents, but he would also be fully aware that it was not worth trying to buck the system.

The main tool in my disciplinary endeavours was that old standby, the cane. Nobody except the headmaster and assistant headmaster were authorised to give corporal punishment and thanks, I would like to think, to my efforts with the junior forms, canings were relatively rare in the senior school. In fact, I'm sure that the headmaster did not enjoy having to wield the rod on the odd occasion when it was necessary for him to do so. If a senior boy was deemed to be in need of the cane then the battle was half lost, in his opinion. Juniors, on the other hand, were more akin to the incipient savages in Golding's Lord of the Flies (one of our set texts) and corporal punishment, provided it was fair and given as soon as possible after the offence, could be very efficacious.

So what were the circumstances in which a junior boy found himself bending over for the cane? The most frequent instances of corporal punishment occurred when a boy was sent out of the classroom for misbehaviour. He would have to stand out in the corridor until he was allowed to return to the lesson, or the bell sounded for the end of the period, and in many cases that was the full extent of his punishment. But any boy 'sent out' was all too aware that it hight be his misfortune to be seen by myself during one of my regular perambulations about the lower school building. Then he knew he was for it!

'Why have you been sent out of class, Rogers?' 'I was messing about sir.' 'Come along with me...' The boy's heart would sink as he followed me to my office - he knew what was coming. If I had not encountered the boy in question before I would limit his caning to two strokes. But if I had had occasion to punish him earlier that term for being expelled from a lesson I would double the dose to four strokes.

I should mention that my many years of experience in beating lower school boys meant that I was a dab hand with the cane. I made sure that I had a good supply of canes at the beginning of each term and always ordered canes made from a dense but very springy rattan. The supplier was aware of my requirements and would usually reserve a batch of my favoured implements when he received a new consignment. What I did not want were stiff heavy canes. Such canes can easily bruise yet paradoxically do not sting as much as their less formidable looking brethren. And it is the sting that is important when caning a schoolboy. The aim is not to inflict any lasting harm and certainly not to injure. What is required is the capability to inflict a very sharp and unpleasant pain in the miscrant's backside - a pain that will be well remembered. The boy should dread a repetition.

When the anti-corporal punishment brigade were campaigning to get the cane abolished in British schools (a campaign which unfortunately succeeded) one of their arguments was that the cane had no deterrent value. The same offenders came back for a beating time after time, it was claimed. All I can say is that in my experience the cane was a deterrent and the vast majority of boys who were beaten did their level best to stay out of trouble. They knew just what to expect if they strayed off the straight and narrow. Of course there were always some incorrigible recidivists, but in my opinion without the sanction of the cane their behaviour would have been even worse. Nowadays such serial offenders would be 'excluded' from school as the jargon has it - in other words deprived of their education. Well, I can proudly say that in my time as assistant headmaster not a single boy was expelled.

So I make no apologies for being a firm believer in corporal punishment. Another tenet of my philosophy was that if a caning was deserved it should be laid on well with no pussyfooting. A boy can sense if you are going easy on him or if your heart isn't in the job at hand, and he will not respect you for it. In fact, he will saunter off with a grin on his face and tell his pals that old so and so is a complete walk over. However, lay the cane on with vigour and the offfender will shuffle out with tears in his eyes. Yes, he may boast to his friends how he could take it, but in his heart of hearts he will be terrified of another dose.

So what was my preferred technique for caning a boy? First of all, I dispensed with stools, armchairs, benches and the like. A junior boy needed to be made aware of his junior status by being told to bend over and touch his toes in the time honoured fashion. Once the boy was bent over I announced the number of strokes he was to receive. If it was only two he would no doubt feel relieved (if still rather nervous), if it was three or four he would be visibly frightened and if it was six of the best the lad would most likely start trembling.

The rules were very clear in my school and most boys up for the cane had a good idea of the number of strokes they were likely to suffer. Here, from memory, are some sample tariffs: expelled from class (as noted above) 2 to 4 strokes; late for school 2 strokes; persistent lateness 4 strokes; failure to complete homework 3 strokes; forgetting games or PT kit 3 strokes; fighting 3 or 4 strokes; cheating in class 3 strokes; cheating in an exam 4 strokes; swearing or foul language 3 strokes; failure to attend detention 3 strokes; smoking 4 strokes; bullying 6 strokes - the list could go on! Suffice it to say that each boy who joined the school was made fully aware of the boundaries and knew what was would happen if he transgressed those boundaries. The number of strokes listed above would increase for repeat offenders - for example, a smoker caught a second time would most likely find himself receiving six of the best.

I have noted above that I preferred a solid but springy cane. When the offender had positioned himself to my satisfaction I would check his seat for any padding and tap the cane lightly across his buttocks to judge my aim. I would then lift the cane well up above my shoulder and bring it down as hard as I could, imparting an added 'snap' with a twist of my wrist as I did so. To a boy who had never been caned before, the sharp burning pain came as quite a shock and it would take all his willpower - and fear of being awarded extra strokes - to stay submissively in position for the remainder of his punishment. Most 'first-timers' suffered no more than two or three stokes but even so were usually on the verge of tears. The chastened boy would leave my office rubbing his tingling backside and no doubt resolving never to get into trouble again.

The most memorable canings were undoubtedly the 'mass executions' when a number of malefactors came before me as a group and were dealt with in turn. Because his friends were witnessing the punishment, each boy would try to assume a nonchalant attitude, determined not to be the one to blub, but this sang froid would as often as not prove beyond even the most stoical lad when six of the best were laid on with a will. The biggest mass execution occurred when I caned an entire first year class, nearly 30 boys in all, for ragging a new master. The offenders received three stingers apiece and they never misbehaved in that teacher's lessons again.