Sir, William Goldsmith, of Highfield School, urges “every school to put wellbeing, resilence and emotional health at the heart of everything they do in and out of the classroom” (letter, Mar 13). Times change. When I was at Highfield in the early 1960s, the then headmaster — whose nickname was “Fritz” — put corporal punishment at the heart of everything that was done in and out of the classroom, on one occasion caning more than 30 boys for snowballing. He was, to use other terms from Mr Goldsmith’s letter, both “reactive” and “truly proactive” in applying this policy.
Antony Edmonds
Waterlooville, Hants
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