Our aim is to maintain an ordered, civilised and friendly community with as little use of sanctions as practicable. However, it is sometimes necessary to impose sanctions for certain misdemeanours, and the following paragraphs indicate the likely response to various types of misbehaviour. You have the right of appeal to the Deputy Headmaster if you feel you have been treated unfairly.
Blue Tickets
The purpose of a blue ticket is to provide information about your work or behaviour to your tutor (who is the primary focus for pastoral care), and to Heads of Year (who have a more general overview).
Tickets are not a punishment but, if appropriate, you will also be given a short task, which will be recorded on the ticket. For poor work this might be being required to repeat or add to the work during third break. Thirty lines is the normal tariff for a deliberate infringement of school rules. An accumulation of tickets in a short period of time may lead to a further sanction.
School Prefects also use the blue ticket system for information only; indeed this is the only sanction they may impose. You must co-operate fully with prefects in the fair execution of their duties; all complaints by prefects are investigated, and you must expect a punishment if a complaint is upheld.
After-School Detention
After-school detention is used as a sanction for offences such as unacceptable behaviour or repeated failure to produce work/the required standard of work/work at the required time. You must be sure to follow in full all the instructions given on the yellow card; in particular you must find your tutor the same day that the detention card is handed to you by your form teacher.
After-school detention is held on Monday and Wednesday evenings from 4.05 to 4.45, and takes priority over all other commitments. In exceptional circumstances (such as a dental appointment or a music examination) you may ask your tutor to re-schedule it. To avoid anxiety or inconvenience to parents, you will be given at least two days notice of detention.
Boys in Year 7 initially serve their detentions with the Head of Year (Mr Holman) during Third Break on Thursdays, but this concession will be withdrawn for persistent offenders.
Your tutor will automatically book an unserved detention into the next available slot, and will give you an additional detention if you missed the original one without good reason. If you have three unserved detentions, you will automatically be given a Saturday detention to clear the slate.
The detention task is a piece of written work and, as part of the punishment, you must find out exact details of the work you have to do from the teacher issuing the detention.
Saturday Morning Detention
Saturday detention is reserved for very serious offences, and is only given after prior consultation with your tutor and, where a group is involved, with the relevant Head of Year. Tutors will contact your parents to inform them of a Saturday detention, and you must be sure to follow in full all the instructions given on the red card.
Saturday detention is held fortnightly from 9.30 - 11.30 in University House. You must report to the door near the Dining Hall at , tidily dressed but not in school uniform. Use the gates to come onto the school site.
The detention task is an extended piece of written work and, as part of the punishment, you must find out exact details of the work that you have to do from the teacher issuing the detention.
Persistent failure to respond to these sanctions may lead to discussions between the Headmaster and your parents. For a very serious offence a suspension from school must be seen as a final warning before permanent exclusion. In addition, the Headmaster may at any time require the withdrawal of anyone who, in his opinion, is exercising an injurious influence on others by his conduct or by his persistent neglect of work, or who is failing for any other reason to profit from the educational programme.
