At the middle school and comprehensive that I attended, most corporal punishment was administered in private, either in the Deputy Head’s office or the Headmaster’s.
Things like lines were handed out quite freely in lessons, and I was the recipient of such, quite a few times.
I suppose Teachers could have dished out CP-like slippering in lessons had they wished. Some would give you a rap on your head with their knuckles, or a clip round the ear, but there was not much more than that. Of course, all of the state schools that I attended were mixed, which may have made a difference.
I agree with some of the posts on here, that being sent to the “Great One” as he was called, was indeed a very scary prospect. If any of your mates knew that you were to report there, they knew it was not going to be a social visit.