No fireworks or 'eccentricies in dress' my life at school 1966

 Life was different in 1966 - for me, at boarding school, it was very different, as you can see from these SCHOOL RULES below.

No fireworks, no cigarettes, no gambling, no motorcycle.  And, get this, 'Straw hats must either be worn or dis­played prominently by boys on bicycles.

But, here's the thing, these rules were 'designed to promote the good discipline of the School and the convenience and welfare of all its members.'

Some make sense, but why jam ONLY in 1lb pots?  And how far will you get on 10 shillings?  Escape is out of the question.

SCHOOL   RULES

General

School Rules are designed to promote the good discipline of the School and the convenience and welfare of all its members.

No set of rules can be exhaustive. The absence of a written rule is no excuse for irresponsible behaviour or failure to exercise common sense. Members of the School are expected at all times to show consideration for other people. Any conduct which may harm the good name of the School is a breach of School Rules.

(*These rules are applicable to day boys also).

A.   Bounds

1.    Town Leave:   Boys   may   go   down town   after 3.30 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and after school on other weekdays.   Only boys in senior houses may go down town on Saturdays (after 3.30 p.m.).   Cinemas are out of bounds.   On the Sunday walk boys must keep outside the city boundary.

2.    Unless on exeat no boy may miss a school meal without permission.

3.    Boys wishing to go for a cycle ride must obtain leave from the Master-on-duty.    No boy may be out after dark.

4.    Swimming, Boating and Sailing are not permitted unless a Master is in charge.

*5.   School roofs are out of bounds.

*6.   All licensed premises are out of bounds at all times.

B.    Exeats

1.    Exeats must be obtained from Housemasters.

2.    One exeat covers the time from the end of morn­ing school on Saturday to 6.45 p.m. in the winter terms, —to normal bedtime in the summer term, and from after breakfast on Sunday until 5.45 p.m.

3.    A boy will not normally be granted more than three exeats a term in addition to half-term.

4.    One of these exeats may be a weekend exeat from 12.30 p.m. on Saturday to 5.45 p.m. on Sunday, provided a boy is not required for games or other duties.

5.    Apart from this, exeats involving absence for a night are given only in exceptional circumstances.   They must be obtained from the Headmaster.

6.    Parents are requested to write to Housemasters beforehand when they plan to take boys out on exeat. Leave to go out with friends will be given only with the written consent of a boy's parent sent beforehand to the Housemaster.

7.    A boy must go out on exeat in school uniform.

C.    Bicycles

1.    A boy must have permission of his parents and his Housemaster to keep a bicycle at school.

2.    No boy below the Removes, except in Milton, may keep a bicycle at school or borrow a bicycle.

*3. Bicycles must be kept in the racks provided, and locked.

*4. No bicycle may be ridden inside the school grounds beyond the outer cycle racks. Boys must wheel their bicycles on to the road.

5.   Boys may not ride bicycles through the centre of Canterbury.

*6.    Motorized bicycles or any motorized vehicles may not be ridden to school or kept at school without the permission of the Headmaster, which will be given only in exceptional cases.

D.    Dress

*1. School dress must conform to the official clothes list and to such regulations as are made from time to time.

All eccentricities in dress are forbidden.

2.   Boys must wear caps or straw hats outside the school grounds. Straw hats must either be worn or dis­played prominently by boys on bicycles. 

3.   Out of school day boys must wear either full school uniform or no items of school uniform.   In the town area during Town Leave times day boys must wear school uniform.

E.    Property

*1. Every boy must see that his name is on all his possessions.

*2. No boy may buy from or sell to another boy without his Housemaster's permission.

*3. Borrowing is to be discouraged, even where the owner's permission has been obtained. To be in possession of someone else's property without his per­mission is an offence. This includes school text books.

4. No boy below the Fifth Form may have more than five shillings and no boy in the Fifth and Sixth Forms more than ten shillings in his possession without permission from his Housemaster.

All other money, together with any bank books, must be deposited with the Housemaster as soon as received.

5. The only tuck normally allowed is fruit, sweets and chocolate, and jam, honey, etc., in 1-lb. pots. Boys are allowed to have a birthday cake on their birthday.

6. No boy may receive by post stamps or other articles on approval without his Housemaster's per­mission.

*7.   No boy may possess:

(a) Cigarettes or smoking materials, matches or lighters

(b) Beer, wine or any intoxicating drink.

(c) Fireworks, fire-arms or explosives of any kind.

(d) Catapults or knives other than penknives or Scout knives.

*8.   No School furniture is to be moved without ex­press permission.

*9.   Any damage to School property must be reported immediately to the Bursar or to the Master-on-duty.

F.    Radios, Etc.

*1. A boy must obtain his Housemaster's permission to keep a radio, record player or tape-recorder at School.

*2.   They may not be played in classrooms, on the move, or in public places.

*3.    They may not be played during school hours or prep time, or

(a)  On any day before 10.30 a.m. or after 9.15 p.m.

(b)  On Sunday between 2.0 p.m. and 4.0 p.m.

*4.   They must not at any time be played so as to cause nuisance to other people.

G.    Music Rules

The Music Rules in force at the time must be known and observed.   Attention is called in particular to the Rules concerning the playing of musical instruments on Sunday.

H.   House Rules

All boys are subject to House Rules as laid down by the Housemaster.

I.    Miscellaneous

1. No boy may drive a motor car in term time with­out the Housemaster's knowledge and consent. No boarder may be a passenger in a car driven by a day boy.

2. All boys below the Sixth Form will go for a walk on Sunday afternoon between 3.0 and 4.0 p.m. They must keep outside the City boundary.

*3. The use of the telephone by boys below the Sixth Form requires the permission of the Master-on-duty.

*4.   All forms of betting and gambling are forbidden.

*5. In Private Study periods a boy must be either in the Private Study Room or in one of the Libraries or with permission in the Labs or Art Room.

6. Boys permitted to miss Sunday evening service must be in the Library during this time.

*7.   There must be silence in the Library.

*8. Out of School hours no boy is to be in any form room except his own.

9.   When on School trains boys are under School discipline.