A Brief History of Manorside School - Through the Eyes of the Punishment Book!

A school punishment book can read like a social history of a school and the punishment book of Manorside School is no exception!

The first recorded entry was in 1906 for a six year old boy called Thomas Jason. At this time the school was known as Squires Lane Infant School. Poor Thomas took a "slap on the hand" for "screaming in class." It was administered by the Headmistress of the day who was obviously keen to lay the ground rules down quickly and firmly. Three days later Doris Gray, another six year old, received two strokes on her hand for "Disobedience!"

The school numbers grew steadily as did the punishments. By 1907 we see the first caning given to George Wightman for "taking advantage of the teacher." That year the school's Board of Education granted permission for the school to divide into separate infant and junior departments.

The entries in the punishment book suddenly stop in 1913 probably due to the onset of war the following year. The final entry for Alfred Cripps who got two strokes of the cane for "annoyance in the playground!"

The school suffered an outbreak of Diptheria between November 1914 and January 1915 when the attendance plummeted from 302 to only 139 pupils. The World War brought more misery and many lives from this school were directly affected by the carnage on the fields of France and Belgium. In November 1916, Miss Taylor a teacher at the school was granted special leave of absence to visit her mortally wounded brother who was sent home from the front.

In 1922 a further reorganisation of the school saw it divided into separate boys and girls departments.

Between the wars the school continued to expand. The punishment book was restarted in 1931. An entry from that year describes John Jepson as a "very slack boy" and Kenneth Short as "a real bad lot!" Both received the stock two strokes of the cane. Perhaps the most bizarre incident involved a boy who, in 1942, received four strokes for "filthy behaviour." A letter of complaint from a parent describes how the boy, whilst in the toilet had "relieved himself into the milk cup" which her son had placed on the floor beside him.

The punishment book continued to record misdemeanours throughout the war years but took on a new lease of live with the arrival of a new Headmaster in 1943. For the next twelve years, page after page of canings are recorded in detail. Most of the reasons given were "disobedience" or "insolence."

Throughout the 50's and 60's another Headmaster wielded the cane at frequent intervals for a variety of reasons until the final entry was recorded on 12 November 1975. The punishment book was then locked away for good as alternatives to corporal punishment were found.

Today, as we enter the first few years of the new century, the school tries to reward its students rather than punish them and we actively teach against the use of violence in any shape or form.

Looking back over a hundred or so years of Manorside's punishment book has its quirky side too. Many an old "scholar" has returned over the years to see how the school they attended as a child has changed, many of them now in their 70's or 80's. Quite often they ask me with a glint in their eye . . . "Can I look for my name in the punishment book please?"

Steve Hilborne

Headteacher

March 2006