(Continues from an earlier recollection) The following Saturday, after I had committed the original offences of using bad language, objecting to having to wear uniform to go to Church and then having a poor attitude, I was told I would be punished for my disobedience. I had to serve the first of the two Saturday afternoon detentions (5 hours each) which I had been assigned. This meant whilst the other students were, for the only time in the week, allowed to go into town unaccompanied and with some more relaxed if still smart dress, I was confined to one of
I had been at my Finishing School for about two months when I was punished for breaking the strict rules in place in this establishment. I found the whole culture of the school less than in keeping with my view of the world. As a 19 year old I found spending my time doing cooking, literature studies, deportment, letter writing, typing, short hand, needlework, flowering arranging, elocution, public speaking and household accounts, basically being trained to be a good housewife, out of date. It was 1973. In addition there were many strict rules including, except for on a Saturday afternoon, being confined to
It was May 1972 and my two friends and I were standing facing the wall outside the Headmistress’s office. We had been caught smoking whilst we should have been studying during a free period. I couldn’t believe we had been so stupid and knew that there was going to be serious consequences. The fact that we were in the Lower Sixth only meant the consequences would be more serious. After half an hour the three of us were taken into her office and we stood in front of her desk with our hands by our sides. The Headmistress, Head of Lower Sixth and the
I am just dropping you a brief reply in response to the request on your website about sanctions other than corporal punishment. At my school, in addition to corporal punishment (which was typically ruler, slipper, strap or cane), numerous other sanctions were imposed dependent on the wrong-doing one had carried out. This was during the early 1970s at a private boarding school. Over the years I saw or suffered the following: Confinement to wearing school uniform at all times. This meant the full embarrassment of spending the evenings and weekends wearing white shirt, school tie, green tunic, green knee socks, green cardigan