Weekends were heaven as I could escape back home for two whole days, and its loss was a disaster of monumental proportions to me. A far worse punishment than the cane could ever be… During that lost weekend I arrived late for afternoon tea and “Mousey” gated me again for the following weekend. If ever I was close to suicide it was then.'”

“A cornerstone of Melbourne Grammar’s identity was its discipline, but Old Melburnians are divided in their opinion of the benefits of corporal punishment as the disciplinary core of the school. Its use to enforce school rules and discourage general misbehaviour was, for the most part, accepted as part of growing up, but its use in the classroom as a substitute for good teaching did little to explain mistakes and misunderstandings: