Having the stick/dap in school

[jimmyscoular]

This has been an interesting thread. Corporal punishment is one of those issues where I have always been able to see both sides. I don't like it, but neither do I like obnoxious, disruptive kids making it impossible for everyone else to learn. As I look back to those long-ago high school days I remember relatively few disrupted classes. Most teachers had their ways of maintaining order. I recall a newly arrived English teacher (prime material for abuse) warning us that he had served in North Africa during WWII with the famous Desert Rats and that he would tolerate no nonsense. He never had a problem. A gentle French teacher, however, suffered terribly. Every class was like something out of St. Trinian's — totally out of control. Some kids earned their whacks.

[Stanmore Bluebird]

As the corporal punishment pain was so agonising; why did so many of you transgress so many times? I don’t get it as would have thought that once would have been more than enough.

[Moodybluebird]

As the corporal punishment pain was so agonising; why did so many of you transgress so many times? I don’t get it as would have thought that once would have been more than enough.

If it was the same 'offence' committed each time you would have a point but it wasn't. There could be a number of reasons why corporal punishment was given. Even well behaved kids (and I consider myself to have been one) were sometimes in the wrong place at the wrong time and ended up getting the stick. And, as has been pointed out by many on here, some of the teachers were psycho and liked nothing better than to live up to their reputations.

If corporal punishment was outlawed by the time you went to school, you should consider yourself lucky. Very few of us were badly behaved (except Tuerto, who apparently was a very naughty boy !) but that didn't prevent us facing the dreaded cane.

[elytillidie]

If it was the same 'offence' committed each time you would have a point but it wasn't. There could be a number of reasons why corporal punishment was given. Even well behaved kids (and I consider myself to have been one) were sometimes in the wrong place at the wrong time and ended up getting the stick. And, as has been pointed out by many on here, some of the teachers were psycho and liked nothing better than to live up to their reputations.

If corporal punishment was outlawed by the time you went to school, you should consider yourself lucky. Very few of us were badly behaved (except Tuerto, who apparently was a very naughty boy !) but that didn't prevent us facing the dreaded cane.

At one time Mostyn consisted of Upper and Lower School (old Cyntwell), we often had to commute between the two for different lessons. One day, unsure as to where we were supposed to be for some reason, maybe a teachers absence, us boys started kicking a ball around. When we were discovered, every single one of us were caned. One particularly well behaved lad nigh on passed out, had to be seated till he recovered, poor sod. Don't think it did us any long term damage though.

[Stanmore Bluebird]

Moodybluebird, I actually left school in 1972 after A levels. Attended Whitchurch Grammar which turned comprehensive in my 4th year there. As I wrote much earlier in this thread, the cane was used very sparingly as most of my peers wanted a good education with a sound job to follow. We were basically there to learn and well behaved. I was out of my depth somewhat in the top set and had to concentrate all the time when up against my classmates who were generally brighter than me!

Corporal punishment may have been used more in the growing number of lower sets and the increased quantity of classes each year upon becoming comprehensive - I don’t know.

[Enoch Mort]

Moodybluebird, I actually left school in 1972 after A levels. Attended Whitchurch Grammar which turned comprehensive in my 4th year there. As I wrote much earlier in this thread, the cane was used very sparingly as most of my peers wanted a good education with a sound job to follow. We were basically there to learn and well behaved. I was out of my depth somewhat in the top set and had to concentrate all the time when up against my classmates who were generally brighter than me!

Corporal punishment may have been used more in the growing number of lower sets and the increased quantity of classes each year upon becoming comprehensive - I don’t know.

I left Whitchurch High (formerly Grammar) School two years before you and my recollection is similar to yours in that corporal punishment was infrequent. If I remember correctly it was administered only by the Headmaster (I don’t recall any girls getting the cane) and he was always very mild mannered.

[jimmyscoular]

If it was the same 'offence' committed each time you would have a point but it wasn't. There could be a number of reasons why corporal punishment was given. Even well behaved kids (and I consider myself to have been one) were sometimes in the wrong place at the wrong time and ended up getting the stick. And, as has been pointed out by many on here, some of the teachers were psycho and liked nothing better than to live up to their reputations.

If corporal punishment was outlawed by the time you went to school, you should consider yourself lucky. Very few of us were badly behaved (except Tuerto, who apparently was a very naughty boy !) but that didn't prevent us facing the dreaded cane.

Sometimes it didn't take anything at all. We had a music teacher at St. Illtyd's by the name of Mr. Watkins. We dubbed him "Whacker Watkins." At the beginning of every class he would randomly select three pupils to come down and get one swipe across the rear with his bamboo cane. Random. A warning to everyone else to behave. Must admit it was effective as we sat there quietly and obediently pondering the inner meaning of Prokofiev's Peter and the Wolf.

[Moodybluebird]

Sometimes it didn't take anything at all. We had a music teacher at St. Illtyd's by the name of Mr. Watkins. We dubbed him "Whacker Watkins." At the beginning of every class he would randomly select three pupils to come down and get one swipe across the rear with his bamboo cane. Random. A warning to everyone else to behave. Must admit it was effective as we sat there quietly and obediently pondering the inner meaning of Prokofiev's Peter and the Wolf.

That is just so wrong. Reading some of the instances of unjustified punishment on here, it is a surprise that more parents didn't turn up at school and flatten some of the teachers.

[Cyncoed Slumdog]

That is just so wrong. Reading some of the instances of unjustified punishment on here, it is a surprise that more parents didn't turn up at school and flatten some of the teachers.

In those days, if I came home and told my parents I had been caned they would have presumed I deserved it. I doubt if many kids even told their parents for the same rreason.
Having worked in Schools, some parents are up at the drop of a hat these days.

[Wash DC Blue]

When I was at school (late sixties, early seventies) most of the teachers seemed to be disciplinarians and were punitive in nature - but a French teacher came along who was a complete wonder. His name was Ravvi Mooneeram. He was an Indian ethnic gentleman from Mauritius and he taught at Cyntwell Secondary School. He was revolutionary in that he injected fun and humour into his teaching and even used to talk to us occasionally in Welsh just to confuse us. The guy oozed personality and positivity.
I left Cyntwell after two years but I never forgot him. In fact, when my mother died I realised that we should express to those people who left a positive mark on us how we felt about them. I looked up his name in the telephone book and spoke to what seemed a younger gentleman who wanted to know why I was ringing. It turned out to be Mr Mooneeram's son and his dad had died a few days before.
His son took some comfort in my words but I should have tried to make contact and thanked his Dad decades earlier.

What a great story!

[life on mars]

That surely has to be Graham Webb? He used to be our PE teacher at Glantaf, before it changed to a Welsh school.
He was a good 'un - still holds the Welsh triple jump record I believe.

Thats the man he broke his collar bone in a game of murder ball , top lad and character.

[life on mars]

Well you did say that you came over them, you’d have got in terrible trouble for wanking over a nun in Lady Mary and rightly so in my opinion

.


Great name for a punk band ( wanking over a nun )

[poc]

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Great name for a punk band ( wanking over a nun )

[Moodybluebird]

I left Whitchurch High (formerly Grammar) School two years before you and my recollection is similar to yours in that corporal punishment was infrequent. If I remember correctly it was administered only by the Headmaster (I don’t recall any girls getting the cane) and he was always very mild mannered.

I would be surprised if less than 40% of the boys in my year at Llanrumney HS had the stick at some time or other. When you have say 90% of my form all receiving the cane for not getting a minimum of 17 out of 20 for a geography test, you can see I'm not exaggerating !

[life on mars]

I would be surprised if less than 40% of the boys in my year at Llanrumney HS had the stick at some time or other. When you have say 90% of my form all receiving the cane for not getting a minimum of 17 out of 20 for a geography test, you can see I'm not exaggerating !

Bless our old school Llanrumney High, a haven of memories.

[MOZZER2]

a haven of memories involves snow ball fights with you lot and the st illtyds green bottles !

rumney high we are here woah ..................

[life on mars]

a haven of memories involves snow ball fights with you lot and the st illtyds green bottles !

rumney high we are here woah ..................

We used to have fun with the St Iltyds bus and snow balls , as it decended the hill towards our lovely Llanrumney HS ,can see their faces now , they always looked smarter than us 😆

[jimmyscoular]

We used to have fun with the St Iltyds bus and snow balls , as it decended the hill towards our lovely Llanrumney HS ,can see their faces now , they always looked smarter than us 😆

What was the St. Illtyd's bus? I lived in Llanrumney, about halfway up the estate, and walked to St. Illtyd's up Mount Pleasant Avenue every day. Never heard of a bus.

[BLUETIT]

What was the St. Illtyd's bus? I lived in Llanrumney, about halfway up the estate, and walked to St. Illtyd's up Mount Pleasant Avenue every day. Never heard of a bus.

There was no such thing as "School Busses", in my day (left St Illtyds in 1968)

When it moved to Llanrumney/St Mellons, the travelling pupils from Splott, Tremorfa, Roath and the such, were allocated bus passes.

The boys I used to travel with all had passes, as they were supposed to catch a bus to the Royal Infirmary, then a connecting bus to Llanrumney. Most of them didn't, they used to walk over Moorland Road bridge, meet me (I never had a pass), then catch the bus at the Royal Oak Pub (which I might add, is in ROATH)

Now here's the thing. We all used to try and catch the 44, which went straight along Newport Road and stopped outside the school gates.

Two other busses (can't remember the numbers), used to turn left onto Llanrumney Avenue, then one used to turn left again onto Ball Road. We would get off these busses at Countisbury shops and walk up Mount Pleasant Avenue.

Two other busses went through Rumney, into Trowbridge, but we tried to avoid these, as you had a gigantic hill to climb up, at the back of the school.

Boys I can remember on the busses are, Andrew North, John Houlston, Terrance O,Reagan, Peter Finn, The Nagle brothers, Ian Murphy, all these from Splott or Tremorfa

[jimmyscoular]

There was no such thing as "School Busses", in my day (left St Illtyds in 1968)

When it moved to Llanrumney/St Mellons, the travelling pupils from Splott, Tremorfa, Roath and the such, were allocated bus passes.

The boys I used to travel with all had passes, as they were supposed to catch a bus to the Royal Infirmary, then a connecting bus to Llanrumney. Most of them didn't, they used to walk over Moorland Road bridge, meet me (I never had a pass), then catch the bus at the Royal Oak Pub (which I might add, is in ROATH)

Now here's the thing. We all used to try and catch the 44, which went straight along Newport Road and stopped outside the school gates.

Two other busses (can't remember the numbers), used to turn left onto Llanrumney Avenue, then one used to turn left again onto Ball Road. We would get off these busses at Countisbury shops and walk up Mount Pleasant Avenue.

Two other busses went through Rumney, into Trowbridge, but we tried to avoid these, as you had a gigantic hill to climb up, at the back of the school.

Boys I can remember on the busses are, Andrew North, John Houlston, Terrance O,Reagan, Peter Finn, The Nagle brothers, Ian Murphy, all these from Splott or Tremorfa

This was interesting to me. Thank you for it. I knew, of course, that some far-flung kids rode a public bus to school, but in my complacency I just thought — if I thought about it at all — that the bus picked them up at their front doors and dropped them off at the school gates. That was quite the journey you all took. For me it was just a 15-minute walk every morning, and a decent bit of exercise it was too.

You left St. Illtyd's the year I arrived, so I can't accuse you of being one of those nasty prefects who glared us newcomers down during school lunch and rapped our fingers if we reached for the salt in a way they considered unmannerly. I always swore that if I was ever designated a prefect I would be a nice guy, and I hope, when that day in fact came, that I proved true to my intention.

Llanrumney, as I recall, was at one time or another served by almost all the "40s." I remember the 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48 and 49. Even the 50 would stop at the top of the estate on its way to St. Mellons. Which of those I caught was important, since some would take the long route around the estate via Ball Road, whereas others would stop right outside St. Cadoc's Catholic Church, which was ideal.

Now, of course, everyone drives. I wonder if the new St. Illtyd's has a massive car park, like American high schools.

[Moodybluebird]

Bless our old school Llanrumney High, a haven of memories.

I have such vivid memories of Llanrumney HS and my junior school Glan yr Afon but I can honestly say I didn't enjoy my schooldays much at all. I have far more of a thirst for knowledge now than I ever did in school.

[MOZZER2]

we only had a 3 metre fence to separate us from the green bottles but with the llanrumney high lot we took far more encompassing approach . we had maccas on our side

anyone looks smarter than the green bottles even today -lol

[life on mars]

I have such vivid memories of Llanrumney HS and my junior school Glan yr Afon but I can honestly say I didn't enjoy my schooldays much at all. I have far more of a thirst for knowledge now than I ever did in school.

My feelings exactly, in fact my abilities and progression greatly improved after leaving school.

I was a Pen Y Bryn junior.

[Moodybluebird]

My feelings exactly, in fact my abilities and progression greatly improved after leaving school.

I was a Pen Y Bryn junior.

When I moved from Adamsdown to Llanrumney at the age of 7, I tried to get into Pen y bryn as it was nearer where I lived in Sedgemoor Road but at that time they were only accepting new pupils who lived in houses with odd numbers ! Strange but true.

[jeepster]

When I moved from Adamsdown to Llanrumney at the age of 7, I tried to get into Pen y bryn as it was nearer where I lived in Sedgemoor Road but at that time they were only accepting new pupils who lived in houses with odd numbers ! Strange but true.

My Brother went to Pen y bryn i went to bryn hafod.