Corpun file 24687 at www.corpun.com
Daily Mail, London, 13 April 1962, p.9
Caning 'outrage' in class 4G
Doctor's note describes weals on boy
By Daily Mail Reporter
A FATHER last night called for an N.S.P.C.C. inquiry into a "brutal outrage" of caning at his son's school.
In a letter to his local N.S.P.C.C. office he enclosed a doctor's certificate describing weals on his son's buttocks.
Fifteen boys of Class 4G at Peckham Manor School, Camberwell, S.E., were caned on Wednesday when they refused to say who had thrown rice about during an English lesson.
The caning was done by Major Kenneth Grace, head of the upper school and commanding officer of the school's Combined Cadet Force.
The father who has written to the N.S.P.C.C. took his 15-year-old son to a doctor yesterday. The doctor examined him and wrote on the medical certificate that there were four marks across the boy's buttocks.
'Afraid'
Last night the father said: "It is time that at least one parent made a stand against the mass canings going on at the school.
"The doctor was surprised that mass canings still go on.
"The trouble is that boys are afraid of their parents taking action in case there are repercussions at school. My own son was nervous when he found out I intended doing something about this matter."
His letter says: "I have never punished my son severely. I am most upset at the whole matter. I would strongly suggest that there is an immediate inquiry into the methods taken. I believe that the staff concerned should be made to answer for this brutal outrage."
The headmaster, Mr. J.H. Matthews, said: "So far as I am concerned this is purely a matter of school discipline, and I do not intend to comment further."
