I remember our school had a rule that if you could only be caned twice per school term, one before half term holiday and one after.
If you had been caned it would be a suspension so the maximum number of times you could be caned would be 6 per school year.
Just wondering if any other schools had a similar rule?
——————————–
I think there was an unwritten rule that if you were caned and repeated the offence you would get a worse or different punishment like a letter home or suspension, but I never heard of an actual limit.
In the caning scene in Kes the headmaster mentions that he knows caning does no good, and fully expects the same boys to be back in his office before the weeks is out… So some boys were getting the cane twice a week! But that was only one one on the palm for smoking… different from six of the best!
——————————-
At least our school never issued 6 of the best, it was 2 for the 2nd form, 3 for the 3rd form, and so on up to the 5 for the 5th form.
I believe in Singapore your first caning of the year would be in the office, the second caning in front of the class and the third canning would be in front of the whole school.
——————————
Some of the boys who had been caned at my school reported that the head of year gave them a single very hard stroke on the open hand, but told them “If you are ever up before me again, it will be six of the best across the backside.” I only heard one definite account of this being followed through.
——————————-
I remember talking to a boy in the 4th year (Year 10) who told me that during his school career, he had received a total of 72 strokes of the cane. He was ultimately expelled. I expect also that he had been slippered a number of times.
——————————-
At my school, I don’t think there was any official regulation regarding “gaps” between canings. However, there was some kind of understanding that if you had received 3 or more strokes of the cane, your next caning would be postponed until a week after the first session. I remember this happening once or twice. I also clearly remember one unfortunate chap being caned twice in the same lesson for disruptive behaviour. He received 2 strokes on both occasions and afterwards informed those interested that the second 2 hurt much worse . The teacher concerned was actually usually OK with a sense of humour and not a regular caner preferring usually to set extra work.
Suspect this may have been a one-off. I never witnessed or heard of something similar again.
——————————–
During my research into SCP in South Korea, I made a note of a proposal to limit the number of corporal punishments. I think the suggestion was a compromise intended to avoid a complete ban. The plan was that boys should have no more than seven canings in a year and girls no more than four. Unfortunately, I didn’t note the source of the proposal at the time and, despite searching over the past few days, I can find no trace of it on the web. I think it would have been a very difficult rule to maintain.