Memories: Lining up for prefect’s beating

Once dinner was over, the prep bell would ring again, and we would undergo another hour and a half of prep. If anyone was to be punished, towards the end of prep the Head of House would enter the common room and read out a list of names; these were the boys who were to be caned for one offence or another. – Alistair Struthain Robertson recalls life at the elite Prince of Wales School, Nairobi, Kenya, in the early 1960s.

The boys would have to line up outside the boot room and enter when their name was called. On entering, the unfortunate lad would bend over the bench where four strokes of the cane would be administered by the Head of House. Between each stroke there was a space of some four to five seconds; enough time to let the pain sink in before the next stroke was delivered!

When the caning was completed the victim would stand to attention, shake hands with the Head of House, and say “thank you”, very often with tears running down both cheeks. It was best to be caned first as the boys waiting outside the boot room could hear the swish of the cane and the occasional grunt of pain thus adding to more apprehension to the events.

Picture credit: Sting Pictures

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