Dear parents,
Following the parents meeting last week it became apparent there are many of you would very much wish for this school to be stricter and more traditional in its approach to discipline. There are some amongst you who believe strongly in the use of corporal punishment for boys and no doubt practice it at home. You provide a loving but strictly disciplined environment at home for your son(s) and are disappointed that when he comes to school it is not matched. We are in fact too lax. We have many rules but perhaps not enough of them and we do not always punish boys who do not abide by them. Some rules are now disregarded not just by the boys but also by the teachers.
As you are probably aware we abandoned caning four years ago. The decision was made by the governors and arose following one or two complaints from parents about alleged excessive severity in the use of the cane. As the person who administered those punishments I know that they were properly applied canings to the buttocks, which of course leave welts afterwards. The complaints were not made by the boys who accepted their punishments as part of school life. There were tears and they left my study clutching their bottoms but determined not to do anything that would deserve such punishment again. It was later when their marks were noticed at home that the complaints were lodged.
The governors' policy is now that boys may not be caned at this school unless expressly sanctioned by their parents. I had not really thought it practical to contact parents each time I wanted to cane a boy and so caning ceased. I am in agreement with many parents that this has not been a good move but I cannot restore its use generally, as this would be in defiance of the governors' wishes. I had thought of simply asking parents to simply state whether I may cane their son or not but am not certain this would provide a good result. Some parents may tick the caning box without considering all the implications and perhaps not providing equivalent discipline at home. In the same way as many of you are complaining we let you down in not maintaining your own standards of discipline the same could be argued the other way.
I wish however to provide a service in the education of your sons that matches as far as sensible your own aspirations. Most parents I am sure are very happy that we no longer cane boys and similarly have been seen to relax many of the rules and standards formerly associated with this school, coming as it does from the grammar school tradition. Others I know wish it was like it was back in the 1950's, perhaps when they were boys here. They remember the discipline, the uniform, the rules and the cane. They wish the same for their sons and I would like to provide this for them. I have thought long and hard how to do this and have a suggestion to make, which I would like your response to. How it would actually work may depend on how many boys are subscribed but assuming there is a nucleus of twenty to thirty i. e. enough to fill a classroom I could see something like the following regime working for them.
A club would be formed and all parents invited to enrol their sons into it. It is not anticipated that boys would wish to enrol themselves as will become obvious but parents have the final say and if they say their son has to join, then join he must. It is open to all ages. The members will attend school in the normal way and stay in their existing classes but will be identified as being a club members principally by their uniform. As well as the existing school rules there will be many additional rules that club members will have to obey and these will apply to conduct at all times, not only at school and parents will need to be aware of this. Club members will be expected to maintain high standards at all times and when they fall short of these punishment will ensue. They will be subject to corporal punishment both at school and at home as well as other sanctions, some of which apply already although they will be enhanced for club members.
Club members will all wear a strict school uniform that is their existing uniform but with short trousers being compulsory. School stockings will be worn and caps are to be compulsory (both items still officially exist on the uniform list). Stockings are to be kept pulled up and caps worn correctly. Members will remain in their uniforms throughout the school day and also on Saturdays. At other times they must remain in short trousers. Shirts will be kept tucked in, ties worn correctly, black Oxford school shoes worn and kept polished. They must keep their blazer buttons fastened and hands out of their pockets. Grey shirts will be worn together with a short sleeved V-neck regulation pullover. Only white underpants and vest may be worn, The underpants may be brief or trunk style and a vest is compulsory. Hair will be cut short and kept tidy.
Club members will attend school on Saturday mornings and in addition will leave school half an hour after non-members. On Wednesdays they will remain behind a further hour to attend a weekly club meeting. Members would have to have school lunches and eat up all they are given and will not be permitted to bring a packed lunch. All the existing school rules apply but will be much more strictly enforced for club members. Members will not be allowed a second chance for most things. For example a member who is late for school will be punished each time whilst non-members are given a detention if they are late twice in a week. Members will not talk in class or not pay attention without punishment, whereas other boys will often be given another chance. Their work will be written out very neatly using only a fountain pen and work of poor quality whether of content or appearance will be repeated and the boy punished.
Certain rules will be required for home during school terms and these will include such things as latest bedtimes, homework times, the wearing of school uniform and TV time allowance (if any). It is recommended that parents provide their sons with a list of home rules after clearing some of the content with the headmaster.
Punishment will be more frequent and severe. A detention for a member will be one hour instead of a half-hour and he will spend it standing on a chair with his hands on his head. Members will be made to stand in the corner of the classroom more frequently than others will. Lines and other impositions will be given more often and generally he will have to do twice as much writing. The main difference though is that members will be caned. All masters will be able to cane members and to do so in front of the class if they so wish. The cane can be applied to the buttocks through their school regulation short trousers or on their hands or the back of their bare legs. No more than six strokes can be given in any one lesson. Private canings can be given to members by the headmaster, his deputy and the boy's own form master and these can be in excess of six strokes but no more than twelve. The member may be required to lower his trousers and perhaps his underpants for these punishments at the discretion of the master but will always be caned on his bare bottom by the headmaster. Members will also be subject to bare bottom caning at club meetings and Saturday morning school, which is exclusively for members.
Members will maintain their own punishment book and have to keep it with them at all times. The master will enter all punishments (not just caning) into it and the member will present his punishment book to his parents on Friday evening and to the headmaster or his deputy on Saturdays. It is a condition of membership that boys will be subject to corporal punishment, preferably by caning at the hands of their fathers. Boys are required to report all school punishment to their parents on the same day and it is left to the parents as to whether they further punish their sons but will be expected to cane them severely on a Friday evening should an unreported punishment show in the punishment book. Regardless of this members will be publicly caned on their bare bottoms on Saturday mornings should their punishment book show three punishments or more during the week. Parents may if they wish record home punishment in the book and these will be included in the week's total (although at the headmaster's discretion he may omit a parental caning for a school offence already punished to avoid double counting).
Parents who are interested in enrolling their sons are asked to contact me directly or they may wish to return the form attached to this letter. Please do not entrust your son to return the form. Should we have at least 20 boys then I will call a meeting to outline the plans in further detail. Once a boy is enrolled he must remain a member for at least one full school year and thereafter a full year's notice must be given in writing signed by both parents that they wish their son to be removed but he can only leave at the end of an academic year falling after the expiry of the year's notice. It is will be expected that once a boy has joined he remains a member until he leaves school. Members may well be appointed school prefects but this will make no difference to their status as members and they will still be subject to all the rules and punishment as the most junior member.
Those parents who like the idea of the club but are not sure if they are able to match the required discipline at home are invited to let me know. This also applies to mothers who are bringing up their boys alone as the absence of a father to provide suitable corporal punishment at home should not preclude you from enrolling your son. I am very happy to discuss this with you and to assist any parent in providing proper punishment for their boy at home. I can help by demonstrating caning, ideally on your own son and provide you with suitable canes to keep at home. Once parents have seen the efficacy of this type of punishment they often become enthusiastic advocates.
Yours faithfully,
Headmaster