We ended up in detention, some had entire adult life ruined by trauma of schooldays - Vladimir McTavish

Corporal punishment was banned in schools in Scotland in 1987Corporal punishment was banned in schools in Scotland in 1987
Corporal punishment was banned in schools in Scotland in 1987
The words of one teacher in the final report card my parents received before I left secondary school back in the 70s: “He will not earn his living as a comedian”.

While their prediction may have been wildly inaccurate, that teacher did manage to sum up my approach to education. I preferred being popular with my classmates by acting the clown than achieving academic success. I was cocky and cheeky. A laugh-a-minute to my peers, but doubtless a complete pain-in-the-backside to the unfortunate adults tasked with imparting enough knowledge to get me through my highers.

To be a cheeky rebel back in those days was a brave and dangerous game to play. Because back then we still had corporal punishment, which could and was administered for the most trivial of offences. By the time I left school, I had lost count of the number of strokes of the belt I had received.

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It wasn’t just the old leather taws that was used to inflict violence on errant children. Blackboard dusters could be fired like guided missiles with unerring accuracy at a pupil’s head, by a teacher who may well have received sniper training during World War Two. A piece of chalk thrown at high speed could cause a lot of damage if it scored a direct hit in the eye.

Bizarrely, most of us came through all of this unscarred. We all saw it as an occupational hazard, Looking back now, it was systematic brutality. But we were lucky. We got to go home at four in the afternoon, unless we ended up in detention.

Many attending boarding schools at the same time had to endure much worse hell around the clock with no escape. Not only that, their parents were paying a small fortune for this. Recent high profile cases are merely the tip of the iceberg, according to a current campaign.

I was approached in the street earlier this week by a woman whom I did not know, although she had seen me on stage. She asked me to sign a petition on change.org raising awareness of the Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry (SCAI). You can view it online. Some people’s entire adult lives were ruined by the trauma of their schooldays. They deserve our support.

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