Back in the days of CP, there seemed to be an agreement that ‘little’ kids were punished under one set of rules and expectations, and young adults under another.
But where is this dividing line drawn, and what difference does age really make?
Peverett Headed a school that fed the Public School sector, so by tradition his oldest pupils were one (or two?) years later than at a state junior school.
West headed a lower Secondary school (I assume 1st, 2nd, and 3rd forms only).
Both Heads, therefore, had responsibility to discipline at least some girls who would have seen themselves internally as young women. However, these ‘young women’ were in the nightmare situation of being treated identically to toddlers whenever the Heads chose, and with, by-and-large, the complicity of their parents.
The fact that so many parents had no wish to acknowledge the increasingly grown-up status of their daughters allowed both Heads to get away with the ultimate ‘power-trip’.
But was this a regional thing? I get the distinct impression such such cases were common in certain parts of the country only, and would never have happened in other areas. I guess religion, politics, and the economic status of the parents all played their part. The wrong circumstances, and the local school would not think twice about breaking a girl’s will with pain and humiliation. The right circumstances, and the school would consider the physical chastisement of a girl unthinkable.