A debate had begun about the desirability of corporal punishment and some heads were starting to resist caning. Children were still regularly caned on the hand or slapped on the legs by staff. Peer pressure was sometimes used to shame pupils into owning up and a whole class, or even the whole school, might be kept in while teachers tried to find out who had committed some misdemeanour such as writing graffiti.

Other punishments included:

• isolation – standing outside the classroom
• hard labour – clean the ovens, muck out the goats
• exclusion – from football or school trips
• expulsion – the final resort, which schools tried hard to avoid

Corporal punishment has been banned since 1986 and the watch-word is 'discipline by consent'. Children are expected to abide by class rules. Misbehaviour is treated first with a verbal warning, then with a note in the child's personal log book. Two or more notes in the log book mean further punishment such as detention. Writing lines has been abandoned and children are more likely to be asked to write an essay reflecting on the effects of their bad behaviour. Children can be excluded from school for one or more days and are expelled only after a certain number of exclusions, with the approval of the governing body.

Teaching was formal and didactic. In academic subjects, teachers would spend most of their time at the blackboard. Technical subjects were taught by demonstration ('gather round the bench, boys,') which children then copied. Before the days of National Curriculum, it was up to the Head and staff to decide what to teach and how to teach it. There were real opportunities for creative teaching, welcomed by some but not by others. Trendier teachers began to experiment, showing films or slides in lessons or bringing in their own cars for boys to work on.

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The emphasis today is on making learning enjoyable and interactive, using techniques like quizzes, games, films, overhead-projection, computers and role-play. A typical lesson begins with a short introduction, some theory outlined on the board or OHP, some hands-on work for the children, followed by a plenary session to ensure that everyone has understood.