Also if a run-up was taken it would be hard to get it right on target whipping across the most fleshy part of the boy’s bottom. Here strokes may land lower down, more on the top of the legs. Often teachers did the last stroke here as it was far more painful than the stroke across the centre of the bottom. These lower strokes were often delivered with pinpoint accuracy, which could not be done with a run-up. This was certainly the case if boys wore short trousers as the head would not want parents to see the vivid weal mark on the top of the boy’s legs, likewise with older boys if they wore shorts at home.