A nephew was allowed to choose his high school from three main contenders. He researched the matter carefully and chose a traditional boys’ school and prospered there. He could have chosen a school that used the cane much less but this did not seem to rate in his considerations.
An acquaintance told me of moving from a relaxed coed school to a strict boys school and being forced to take his studies seriously and prospering as a consequence. I have also heard cases of the reverse non-sporty boys who did better when they moved from a strict boys school. Different people need different things.
Whether CP is abusive or not may be more a matter of perception rather than an absolute.