I went to secondary school during the 1970’s and fell victim to the hand of Mrs Venters a history teacher at bodmin secondary school who took vicious delight in slapping the backs of my legs. I can still remember the pain it was awful and the red hand marks it left. I can still remember screaming at age 14 and my tormentor carrying to the other leg regardless.
there was more than one female teacher who punished girls in this way and yes it was on the back or tops of the thighs. It often happened informally, girls talking in class would sometimes have their chairs pulled out and the tops of their legs smacked or lining up and giggling when we were supposed to be silent. We wern’t allowed to wear trousers in those days either, it always brought tears to my eyes! Not to mention ugly red finger marks for everyone to see!