Best years of our lives?

Why is it that the Catholic nuns were so malicious? I too went to a Catholic grammar school, and well remember being told to stand up for 40 minutes in front of the class whilst the nun berated me for not putting down my pen immediately when told. The gym mistress was sadistic, leaving another girl balancing precariously on a gate because she had admitted to being afraid of the gate vault. They weren't happy until they had reduced you to tears. I think humiliation like this stays with you for the rest of your life.

I went to a Catholic primary school with many nuns as teachers as the convent was attached to the school. I think I was fortunate as I had strong parents who only had to intervene once when I told them the teacher had hit us with a ruler. I suppose prior to that it would have been a cane. I haven't felt the same about nuns since the stories of the awful cruelty at the Magdalen launderies.

I was a boarder at a Sacred Heart convent, the nuns were not malicious and we were not punished physically. I loved it there because I could relax.

It was rather different at my primary school in Scotland. I was not naughty, I was too frightened to be but if I made a mistake with arithmetic etc a leather belt was used on my hands.

I spent two terms at the local secondary school but the French teacher lost his temper and used the strap on me with such force I think it was then my parents decided to move me. I said de le instead of du! Nobody was ever gentle with a belt, giving a tap.

My dad's cousin taught me in junior school and applied the strap with a sadistic grin on her face a few times.

When I was at school one could have heard a mouse run across the floor we were all terrified.

There was one little girl who was ALWAYS picked on by our teacher, who for some inexplicable reason loathed her (primary school 7/8 years olds). When we were lining up in the playground, this poor girl would be hauled out and almost beaten against the fence. We were all enraged by the unfairness of it, but were powerless. It must have affected that child's whole life - how could it not? - but no one did anything, not even her parents if she told them, because she was the teacher and therefore authority. My mother 'knew' her to greet in the street etc years later - a respectable member of the local community. Ugh!

I went to a Roman Catholic school run by nuns although I was not RC myself. Yes they did hit us but worse still was that I and other non RCs were left out of some of the non-religious activities including being in the choir.
When only 3 passed the 11-plus the two RCs were called out in assembly and given prizes. My 11-plus success and scholarship were never mentioned.

It was our PE teacher who was the worst. In junior school I can remember having my period and in those days of course we only had sanitary towels attached to belts. She had us all lined up in a row and she singled me out by twanging my sanitary belt in front of the whole class. I felt so humiliated.
Another time she dragged a girl across the hall floor by her hair.
What we had to put up with then. Thank goodness it's a lot better for our grandchildren.

I know of a little girl who had her hair pulled out with tweezers by nuns at a convent school because she had ringworm. My FiL was pushed down the stairs by priests at a Catholic school because he got some work wrong. Enough to make you weep. I'm sure there are many kind and caring people in these schools but the spiteful and sadistic are attracted to these situations because they can vent their cruelty on the helpless.

Had some horrible teachers. At my primary school there was a really nasty male teacher who made fun of my speech defect and used to hold the kids up by their hair (very painful!) Just before I left he dropped dead of a heart attack and I got into trouble for doing a little dance of joy!!

No bad memories of teachers at all, really, although I think I was lucky never to be taught by a vicious Latin teacher with whom I got on very well out of the classroom. His funeral was packed out, mostly I suspect by former pupils wanting to make sure he was dead.

I was beaten twice, once with a slipper at prep. school (can't remember why, but I expect I deserved it) and caned once at secondary school, one of twenty or so caught drinking in the dormitory on the last night of term. Well, we had won the house rugby competition. The Assistant Housemaster made an issue of it, and I suppose the Housemaster felt he had to back him up. So it was four quick strokes and "Merry Christmas!" "Merry Christmas, Sir!"

Indian

At my primary school, we had one girl who was half India. I can still remember her name, poor child. One horrible teacher kept sending her home to 'have a wash as your skin looks dirty'.

There was one little girl who was ALWAYS picked on by our teacher, who for some inexplicable reason loathed her (primary school 7/8 years olds). When we were lining up in the playground, this poor girl would be hauled out and almost beaten against the fence. We were all enraged by the unfairness of it, but were powerless. It must have affected that child's whole life - how could it not? - but no one did anything, not even her parents if she told them, because she was the teacher and therefore authority. My mother 'knew' her to greet in the street etc years later - a respectable member of the local community. Ugh!

KatyK catholic schools were the worst. I got caned regularly in front of the whole school and don’t think I was particularly badly behaved. Doing a cartwheel and showing my knickers was a major crime! My name is still in the punishment book.

We had a PE teacher who used to carry two split rulers so that when he whacked you you actually got 4 beats per whack.

As for the board rubber throwing, my geography teacher once threw the rubber at a boy in my class, who quickly ducked, causing the rubber to go out of the open window, and knock the headmaster off his bike!

My first year in primary school, our teacher was Mrs. Oxley, lovely lady, quite old, she had a large white desk with steps up to the seat. 2nd year we were in Mrs. Haigh`s class, fairly strict, but OK. Year 3 was Mrs.Wilkinson, we`d heard awful tales about her, none of us wanted to be in her class. One day it was sewing, and I snipped a tiny bit out of my gym slip with my scissors, for which she gave me the battleboard, That was the punishment in the infants, the battleboard being like a table tennis bat but just wood, no rubber covering, your backside was hit with it. I thought it was unjust because it was my property, not the school`s or hers.
In junior school I was caned once, in the 2nd year, for having a tiny little doll perched on my desk. The same teacher, Mrs. Taylor, caught a boy passing a note, so called him out for caning. The blackboard was one of those large ones that could be swung round on it`s frame to show the opposite side. When she brought the cane down to hit him, she caught the blackboard which swung round and knocked him over. He was crying, so she comforted him...…………..then caned him!!

My first year of secondary school, the maths teacher was awful. He was a short man with a goatee beard and moustache. He had the entire class standing on our chairs until we solved the problem on the board. I was rubbish at maths and was nearly always the last one standing. It was so embarrassing. He gave you no help or praise. I failed maths.

I am glad to say I have nothing but happy memories of both my junior and senior school .I was not top of the class but did quite well and was ,at times ,the class joker and got away with it .I was sad when I left school at 17 and went right into a job while some of my schoolfriends were doing another year and had the whole summer holidays to look forward to .

On the whole, I have fond memories of many of the teachers in the schools I went to. However, there were a few who were terrifying. A Mrs Cook who made us recite our times tables and who could be very frightening if you made a mistake, an RE teacher who was really fierce, and one of my first teachers who slapped me round the face because I got confused and skipped in the wrong direction in country dancing. I couldn't have been more than 6 years old!

Some really awful stories here.
Our headmistress used to wait for one particular boy every day and slap him on the legs for not walking straight on his way to the dining hall. Until his mother found out and came to the school.
The young lad was eventually diagnosed with polio.
Treatment in those days often amounted to child cruelty.

Happy memories for some. Lovely to hear.

Katyk I loved primary school had great teachers ,I well remember my first day the teacher Miss Watson wore a black dress with yellow umbrellas on it ,she had what looked like dozens of sticky out petticoats under it .I met her again years later and she instantly recognised me and when I told her about remembering her dress she was amazed .Secondary school was a convent and most of the nuns were lovely ,Sister Philomena was my favourite she taught English ,I didn't get on with Sister Mary Paul who was a bit of an old snob and I cant stand snobs even now.She spent half the time being sickly sweet to the daughters( all girls school) of doctors or laywers and dismissive of the rest of us....we weren't good enough for her.I left when I was 15 ...no "o" levels at all ,just wanted out.I had my own business by the time I was 21 ,so it did me no harm at all despite what the Head teacher ,a nun.said when she called my parents and me in to discuss me destroying my life by leaving school so soon .No regrets here,we'll be retiring from the same business later this year after 44 years .

I was fortunate to attend a lovely village school, starting just after my fourth birthday. All the teachers were wonderful but some of the less well-off children were bullied by the female P.E teacher. ?. After passing the 11+, I went to the girls’ grammar school in a nearby town. It was a difficult time for me as I’ve never been great in female only company. However, I do consider myself fortunate as I would not have survived in the Secondary Modern school!

Anniebach. Are you referring to the Aberfan disaster? So, so sad!

KatieK - I sympathise; my husband attended a Catholic school and some of his memories, of those days, are quite horrific!

I was hit on the knuckles once, when I was about six or seven, for not knowing my tables. That’s was at my infant school, which I usually loved. That was where I learnt to love singing and poetry.

At junior school I don’t remember any punishments, for me or any one else. I stayed at that school (all girls) for the rest of my school life. It was quite a happy place, except for a really foul geography teacher who had Nazi tendencies and used to get at the Jewish girls. To this day I feel guilty that I didn’t go to the headmistress and tell her what was going on. That same teacher used to shut us in the map cupboard if we needed to blow our noses, and as for sneezing....!

Anniebach - what disaster? You weren't at Aberfan, were you?

How kind you all are. I didn't mean to make this a sympathy fest for me. It's the luck of the draw isn't it? A lot of people of our generation had a difficult time.