Tawse facts for kids

The tawse (pronounced "taws") was a special leather strap used mainly in schools in Scotland. It was a tool for corporal punishment, which means physical punishment. While mostly used in Scotland, some schools in English cities like Newcastle upon Tyne and Liverpool also used it.

A tawse was made from a strip of leather. One end was split into several tails, like fingers. The thickness of the leather and the number of tails could be different. Many people who made horse equipment in Scotland also made tawses for school teachers. Teachers and students usually called it "the school strap" or "the belt," not "tawse."

The Tawse in Schools

In Scottish public schools, the tawse was used to punish students, both boys and girls. When a student was punished, they were usually told to hold out one hand, palm up. Their other hand would support it from below. This made it hard to pull the hand away and made sure the hand felt the full force of each stroke.

Often, the class teacher would give the punishment in front of the whole class. This was meant to show other students what would happen if they misbehaved. Sometimes, a special teacher, like the Deputy Headmaster, would give the punishment.

The tawse was used in both primary (elementary) and secondary (high) schools. It was used for small mistakes and more serious ones. Girls received this punishment just like boys. Some private schools in Scotland also used the tawse.

Why the Tawse Was Banned

In 1982, two mothers from Scotland took their case to the European Court of Human Rights. This court decided that parents had the right to say no to physical punishment for their children. This decision eventually led to the tawse, and all other forms of physical punishment, being banned by law in UK state schools.

The law officially changed in 1987. However, most local education authorities in Scotland had already stopped using the tawse by the early 1980s.

The Tawse in Courts

The tawse was also used in Scottish courts as a form of judicial corporal punishment. This means it was used as a punishment ordered by a judge. It was an alternative to another type of physical punishment called the birch.

Courts could sentence boys aged 14 to 16 to receive up to 36 strokes with a very heavy tawse for certain offenses. However, this type of court-ordered physical punishment was stopped in 1948.

See also

• Corporal punishment
• School discipline