The following is an extract from the story of Shoreham Grammar School, an independent boys school in West Sussex as remembered by H.L. Wills and M.E. Barmen.

If you had ordinary detentions for any member of the staff, you reported to his classroom at four o'clock on either Monday or Thursday afternoons, and detentions could last until five o'clock.

If you had school detentions you were put on 'Red List' and had to stay in one Wednesday afternoon under the supervision of the Headmaster's Deputy - Miss Owens, or 'Dora' as she was called.

Your punishment depended on the offence, and the form you were in. Very junior boys had to write out their tables 2-12 times neatly. Sometimes boys a little older were given a four-figure number to square, and you might have six or ten of these to do correctly, moving up one number each time.

Forms just above this had to cube a four-figure number, and continue with six or ten of them. In the senior school you had to find the square root of a four-figure number to six decimal places, and in the highest forms you had to do the same with four-figure numbers, but find the cube root to six decimal places.

For bad conduct, bad work, etc. you had six strokes with the cane, in front of the class, and for cheating you had ten strokes. If boarders ran away, they could receive as many as sixteen strokes.