I Received Corporal Punishment At School

I think it depends how old you were at the time. The younger you are the more likely you would take less on the bare bottom than if a teenager. My oldest son who went to another prep school, not where i was deputy, said he and most boys always opted to take the less number of strokes even if they had to take it in front of others. As he said, hewas only interested in getting what would hurt the least and as he was constantly seen nude at school showering like the rest, it was no big deal having to bend over nude and be caned. He would rather have less pain than not show his bottom.

@Caned4doz While I tend to agree with you - once you have taken four strokes of the cane you are in so much pain and so 'spaced-out' that an extra two strokes makes the beating only marginally worse - my personal experience was that getting caned on the bare was noticeably more painful than the same caning through pants and underpants and left more significant welting.

My other comment on this topic in general is my surprise that anyone, anytime, was offered a punishment option! At the schools I went to -admittedly now back in the dark ages - the idea that any master would negotiate a punishment with you would have marked that master as "Wimp of the World" and he would have been destroyed in weeks!

@HowardP on two occasions I was caned on the bare so I do know that it was different. I agree with you that no options were given at any of the schools I attended. Anyway, if there were options it probably would have been a choice between a lengthy and tedious written punishment or a caning. I definitely would have chosen the cane.

@Caned4doz at the private school my oldest attended before i was appointed deputy at another he was often given the choice of lines or the slipper. Only the head and deputy wre supppose to use cp but they were fully aware of these "special offers" which gave the boy the choice of 100 lines or three with a leather slipper. It went on constantly but never talked about. The first time my son was given the choice he opted for the slipper and stayed after class to get it. He thought it would be over trousers and pants or at least his pants. He was shocked, when before bending over he was told to pull his trousers and pants down to his ankles before reaching over a desk for the three whacks. He said once bending over the shirt was pulled right up so that the slipper could be used on his bare bottom. He said all the teachers did it bare and really whacked hard and the sole shape marks where the slipper had landed could often be seen the next day. He said in spite of this he would rather get it over with quickly and take the three rather than spent 1.5 to 2 hours writing out lines. He said the vast majority of boys opted for these unofficial slipperings ad nobody complained.

He did say he was shocked the first time this one teacher gave him the choice of lines or "three whacks on his bottom" He assumed it was the slipper and opted for the whacks. After school he had to pull his trousers and pants down and pull up his short prior to bending over. The shock was, the teacher took out a flexible cane and seeing the look on his face told my son that he did not use the slipper but put the cane right across both bare cheeks. My son said he would most likely still have opted fir the cane had he known but had no choice and had to bend over and keep his bottom still while three strkes went across the middle of both cheeks. He had the marks for nearly a week. This was not allowed, and while the head knew about it did nothing. My son thinks that at least three boys got this unofficial caning from the teacher each week, but it was only this one teacher that used the cane and not the slipper.

@chikki I attended a private Catholic boys school in Australia. The slipper was never used, but it seems to have been a quintessentially English method of punishing. Choices were not offered at my school, but as I mentioned before, I would have opted for the cane over written punishments. Lines or copying out pages from the Bible were a common form of non-cp and it took an enormous amount of time to complete, so I can understand and agree with your son on his choices.


The only times I was caned on the bare backside it was done either by my housemaster or the deputy head. There was no big production about it and I didn't have to lower my trousers/shorts (depending on the season for uniform) and undies any further than just below the buttocks. While I think being caned on the bare was worse than over clothing, I have never quite decided whether it was physically more painful or the psychological effect of knowing I was so exposed. Strange really because at home I got the strap on the bare every time without exception.

@chikki The first time I was caned I was 12yo and it wasn't long after starting high school, which was a private Catholic boys school in Australia. My offence was petty really, a uniform violation, but I think I was being used to set an example for the rest of the new starters. The assumptions about enduring the least pain were logical at the time, but nonsense in reality. To me, it was more about which master was administering the cane. There were times when I got two strokes and they were agonising, other times the strokes seemed so mild I almost felt disrespected. However, if I was to be caned by my housemaster or the deputy head, I knew I was in for a challenging time, especially with the deputy head. He had a school yard reputation for being a vicious caner and the hype lived up to the reality.

@Caned4doz speaking as a deputy that is the trouble when several teachers are allowed to use the cane. Some do t softly while others really whack your bottom. The concern then for the boy is not that he is going to get the cane but who is going to do it. The cane then looses its impact to deter. Alright to break the rules with one teacher as he does not do it hard but a big NO with another as he really hits hard.

@chikki I found that even with the same teacher/master the intensity of the canings could differ. I was caned mostly by my housemaster and there were times when I thought I was getting off easier than I expected. Other times I thought it was the worst ever caning. All sorts of factors can apply and not always directly related to the offence or age of the boy. It could depend on the mood of the master on any given day, or my own mood. There was/is no exacting science. What I do know is that once I knew I was to be caned, I figured it needed to be done properly. What was worse than being seen by your peers to not handle a caning well, was to be thought to have gotten off easy...crazy schoolboy thinking.

@Caned4doz i know as a boy, when i was caned with a group we always use yo compare marks to see who had the "best." "Best" was regarded as the boy who had got it right across both cheeks and had the sorest looking bottom. I can recall once, i think it was about four of us were comparing marks and had been seen by the teacher.He said he would be back in a minute and would see if we changed our minds about who had the best marks. We had all got i think it was three but may have been four. He came back with the cane but a thicker one and said we would not be so keen to compare marks in future. In turn we had to bend over and on a still really sore and stinging bottom he gave us three more. Worse still it was with this thicker cane that left you much sorer and he hit us much harder. None of us were keen to compare marks as we were in agony.

Some teachers never hit you hard but others use to really swing the cane. It was not so bad when they got the cane to land right across both cheeks but some teachers hot it to land tip first and only got one cheek and it use to cut right into it and would be sore for days. May be worse still, some teachers got it rught on the tops of your legs rather than your cheeks and these were really bad stingers and it hurt to sit down for ages.

@chikki There were certainly many times when I was at my last school that boys would compare their marks. Fortunately we were never caught doing so, but I do not for a minute doubt that the teachers knew that boys did so (they were boys once too). I think it a bit harsh to cane you again so soon after already being caned, but those were the days.

As for different canes, I do know that my deputy head and housemaster both had two canes. The deputy head had his canes hanging and one a hook on the back of his office door and they would rattle about as the door was opened or closed; a poignant sound for boys on report! My housemaster kept his canes in the umbrella section of his coat stand. For both masters, one cane was obviously thicker and a bit longer. I discovered through personal experience that the thicker cane was for use on the older boys (14 and up). Getting the cane on the top of the legs was a killer, but what was worse, I thought, was if two strokes landed on top of each other.

@Caned4doz you have made some good points. While it was an extra caning when i was a boy if you got caght comparing marks the opposite was true when i was a deputy. Boys were not encouraged to compare marks nor were they discouraged. As a deputy i rather liked them to compare marks as it did two things. Firstly, showed boys all were treated the same and nobody was given it softer or harder than anybody else. The marks tell how hard the cane was used. this was important as boys could see my sons got it as hard as them.Even more important once when i had to cne the headmasters son. They all saw he got it just as hard as the rest. The second plus point their is nothing that deters boys more, without actually getting caned, than to see a freshly marked bottom. Ay risk of the boy getting hero status is more than outweighed by the number it makes behave having no wish to have marks like that on their bottom.

My head when i was a boy had two canes. He called one Tickler and one Stinger. Tickler was used on most boys with stinger being used on the top year (13 yesr olds) or for very serious offences. The head always gave six strokes and Tickler certinly did more than tickle when it went across your bare bottom. It really stung and each stroke hurt more than the previous one. It was something you did want agan and it hurt for nearly a day. Stinger did as its name suggests and stung a lot more than Tickler but being a thicker cane each stroke grazed, and sometimes, cut your bottom. With Stinger, you still felt the effects of where the cane had landed two later and were tender for nearly a week with the marks lasting nearly two weeks. As a by i got Tickler a few times and Stinger twice. Both six strokes on the bare bottom. I can speak with authority that just two of Stinger (and it was always six) was worse than six with Tickler.....Stinger reallyuse to leave your bottom ore and tender for ages.

I agree that strokes on top of the legs, hurt a great deal more than the ones on the middle of the cheeks. As a deputy i always tried to avoid two strokes landing on top of each other. Not being rude but some boys have very tiny bottoms and if they are getting six it is hard to avoid strokes landing on top of each other. as a deputy i had to put six across dome very tiny bottom but mostly avoided a full overlap. The reason i tried to avoid it landing in the same place was that the aim of the cane was to inflict a sharp sting on the bottom. From getting it as a boy if you got two in the same place it not only stung but was almost certain to graze of even cut the bottom which is not the idea. I had a teacher at school who use to try and get the strokes to land right on top of each other and he was very accurate, and of course on the bare bottom could see where to aim. Get three, or even two, from him left you needing to sit on your side for the rest of the day as your bottom was so tender

@chikki I found that the showing off of stripes only occurred among ones mates. It didn't matter if it was a group of boys all punished for the same offence or whether mates knew that one of them were up for a caning. My very best mate all through high school and I would often show each other our marks after either one of us were caned. Rather than it be an exercise in comparing against each other, it was like a competition to see if the master administering the cane was up to his usual standard.

The other aspect of seeing marked bums was in the PE change rooms and showers. It was a strange world inasmuch that it was perfectly ok to look at and comment on a striped backside, but don't dare look if the backside was unblemished. I don't think I had any PE lessons when there wasn't at least a couple of boys with marked bottoms. Whereas boys accepted that a bared bottom in the change rooms with cane stripes was common and not remarkable, it was the opposite if a boy had marks of different kinds, suggesting they had been punished at home. I know I was embarrassed when I knew I had marks from my father's strap showing.

As far as I know none of the masters I had gave names to their canes. The one exception may be the woodwork master. He kept a cane in the woodstore and referred to it as the 'waddy', but I'm not sure if 'waddy' is a colloquialism.

To quote another correspondent I have, "kids today don't know they are born". Such has been the shift in the disciplinary methods from our day.

@Caned4doz When i was a boy back in the late 50,s it was a vet common sight to see marked bottoms where they had been whacked. Get the cane at school and boys would see you actually bending over getting it and many more see the resulting marks in the changing room. You had plenty of chances to see the marks as teachers tended to cane hard and left the marks clearly able to be seen for a week.

In my day dads use to lay into your bottom if you were naughty. Some did have canes and knew how to really whack your bottom hard with it.....mine did. Some use to use a strap or belt. The slipper or a shoe shaped piece of leather was also common. In most cases these were done at night and the marks could be clearly seen the next day and as boys we tried to work out what had been used to leave those marks and how many whacks had been given. In those days, if you got whacked at home or school your bottom was sore and tender for a fair while. Seeing the marks certainly use to make others behave, but nor effective still, if while not in trouble themselves, actually saw a boy bending over and having the cane on his bare bottom. As an onlooker you may smirk as you saw his bottom hit but gave a very clear warning that if you broke the rules it would be your bottom.

@chikki I can certainly remember how an almost eerie silence fell when a boy was in trouble in class. Probably a mix of fascination with what was likely to happen and not wanting to attract any attention from the teacher. Seeing a boy caned in front of the class was a salutary reminder that misbehaviour had consequences.

I got the strap at home from my father. No messing about with it either. A very sore bottom that remained tender for a couple of days afterwards and marks lasted longer.

@Caned4doz Caning was common and boys were fascinated by the sight of a boy bending over and having his bare bottom caned. The class would sit and watch closely and it did serve as reminder to the rest of the class that if they broke the rules it would be their bottom caned. One thing, whike the cane was used a fair amount you never got use to it. You may have got use to the procedure but never the sting. It always hurt more than expected. In those day teachers had one aim when telling you to bend over and that was to give yiu a very sore and tender bottom....some were real experts at doing this.