Thanks to everyone for their replies re class members.
Reading your replies led me to remember the discipline in those days.
I got slapped over the head on my first morning climbing the stairs to assembly for not having my peak cap on straight.
Midgeley hit me over the head with a piece of wood as I had cut it off with the grain running the wrong way.
Birch always gave me half marks for Maths if I had an ink blot making things look untidy.
Vincent Firman slammed a blackboard on the floor ( the ones that were reversible) if we even attempted to talk.
The mind boggles at just how frightened we all were.

Years at KBGS e.g. 1958-1964 (optional) 58-63

Current location (optional) north wales

At a recent meeting with Doug Thompson, I related an experience I had in 4a at the hands of a Welsh Maths teacher of great height. He complained about me to my form teacher (Wilbur)who in form period moved me to the place immediately in front of his desk. Next Maths lesson,instead of letting it pass unremarked, he made comment about Mr Bloomfield's action. I looked up from my work, as he was clearly talking about me, and was told to take "that" smile off my face. As I looked up a second time, he used the full extent of his albatross-like wing-span to smack me across the face, lifting me out of my chair and to the floor. We always had the attitude of "nil carborundum" (even if we couldn't spell it)so I gave him a cheery smile as I climbed back onto my chair.I was very competent at Maths. I'm not sure whether that exercise of discipline improved or hindered my progress.

Years at KBGS e.g. 1958-1964 (optional) 52-60

Current location (optional) Lincoln

I don't know if the word "discipline" is appropriate, it should really be something more like sado-masochism. Especially when one thinks about such mongrels as Nancy Emery. I remember him getting ready to thrash someone, probably me because Roger Winward and I used to produce this rag called "Das Premier" mocking teachers, he had no ruler handy so he asked for one, Barry Lorrimer had a 12" engineers steel rule that Nancy grabbed and proceded to lay it on edge side.

Years at KBGS e.g. 1958-1964 (optional) 58-61

Current location (optional) Blue Mountains, Australia via Haworth

...wasn't it 'Nancy' Leeming and ' Snakey' Emery....?? Nancy wouldn't have hurt a fly, and was consequently given a dog's life (along with 'Crud' Crouch)- I imagine we probably drove him to the brink of nervous breakdown several times. Snakey on the other hand was a sadist and a creep (IMHO)....

I was in 3G2 in 1961, I have an idea that Emery was our Form Master, but it was 47 years ago. I distinctly getting flogged for refering to him as Nancy Emery in Das Premier, he seemed to think it was a reflection on his manhood. We also called him Snakey.

I actually found the discipline in Australian schools to be a bit more brutal. Corporal punishment was inflicted by caning across the tops of the fingers

Years at KBGS e.g. 1958-1964 (optional) 58-61

Current location (optional) Blue Mountains, Australia via Haworth

At least they didn't compel you to listen to Rolf Harris records.
But I have to tell you it was certainly Snakey Emery and Nancy Leeming and I guess that the slurs were intended.

Years at KBGS e.g. 1958-1964 (optional) 58-65

Current location (optional) leeds

I was one of the unfortunates who in 1B was taught English by Gilbert Swift. His idea of discipline was to make you stand alongside the wall and bang your head against it. This was accompanied by the threat that if you didn't bang it hard enough, "I will come and bang it for you".

In the same form we were taught history by Davies, who I seem to remember was a welshman. His technique was to hit you repeatedly on the head with the wooden side of the board rubber.

It was certainly a rude introduction to Grammar School life. Despite it all most of us managed to surivive, but I think some of the mental scars must still there.

Years at KBGS e.g. 1958-1964 (optional) 55-61

Current location (optional) Paisley

Former pupils (that illustrious Scottish term for old boys when applied to Border rugby teams)of kbgs assume that it is only those of their own ilk who read their postings on this site. Have we ever considered that there may be former teachers of kbgs (as yet anonymous)who live in dread that their control techniques may be exposed as inadequate and that they descended into the practices of the Marquis de Sade? And if that should be so, should we be more circumspect?

Years at KBGS e.g. 1958-1964 (optional) 52-60

Current location (optional) Lincoln

A point well-made, Terry, and I've often thought it. Indeed, it may well be why the web-site never - to my knowledge - attracts contributions from former teachers, yet those who are still alive are very likely to be at least aware of its existence. Personally, I should like to hear from them. Whilst I detested the humiliations (most of which were not physical in my day), I don't think I bear any grudges. What I gained from the school far outweighed what I lost in dignity as an adolescent.

Years at KBGS e.g. 1958-1964 (optional) 51-58

Current location (optional) Cottingham

My take on this is that it is a great pity the discipline wasn't backed up with encouragement when we tried hard and did well. These days there seems to be all encouragement and no discipline, which causes a lot of teenagers to underachieve for themselves, not just for their schools.

It must have been a daunting task for our masters to keep order and not to appear to have any chink of weakness to be exploited. I don't think there was any justification for some of the extremes which were dished out and which we just accepted as the norm at that time. I remember Emery lived in D6, next door to Basher Braithwaite, and the sounds coming through the wall gave you something to think about. But Emery's contrived punishments ensured he had plenty of victims whom he appeared to beat with relish, because a certain number were bound to fail the tests he set. One poor unfortunate I distinctly remember (a good lad) failed one day and was duly summoned to the front. He was swiped with a pump a number of times and we learned later that he had a boil on his backside when this happened and collapsed with the pain.

I take the point that some old masters might be reading this, but the ones who are still alive must have been the younger ones, and they were not usually quite so extreme. I've left lots out here because I'm erring on the side of caution, but I just wanted to back up what John Felvus said. I was also in 3G2.

Years at KBGS e.g. 1958-1964 (optional) 58-63

Current location (optional) Exeter

"Elizabeth"'s comments have a bearing with a perennial resonance. An exact balance between discipline and encouragement should be part of the professional armoury of the teacher - now and then - just as pride and acute self-criticism should be balanced in the artist in whatever field."Her" comments on the certainty that Emery's tests would produce victims for punishment reflects, of course, the process by which most of us gained entrance to KBGS or achieved "success" in the GCE.
Entrance to KBGS was not by achievement of a pre-ordained standard in the entry exam - but according to the number of places that were affordable in that year in our LEA. (Hence the inequalities between different LEAs in the availability of 11 plus places in the grammars.)
When it came to GCE (and School Certificate) examinations, the marks achieved by entrants were used to produce a graph which was matched against one representing a normal curve of distribution (of when or for what?) and the pass mark for the exam was determined by drawing the line on the graph where the normal curve of distribution appeared to separate the sheep from the goats.This accounts for the varying percentage of KBGS GCE passes from year to year in any one subject - and the inequitable comparisons between subject teachers' performance in preparing candidates for exams. (I have read some of my immediately pre-"O" level essays for Spike - and they were crap compared to work I have marked for GCSE candidates.)
What the media and certain pressure groups find difficult about the GCSE is that - arising as it did from the CSE and GCE - it established levels of achievement that could be identified in the candidates' answers and/or course work and - where these could be identified - they are justifiably rewarded. This system excludes the discrimination of the normal curve of distribution and explains to some extent the steadily increasing level of attainment in the public exams taken at GCSE and A Levels which some in the media find distasteful.
Perhaps there would have been fewer sore bottoms in Emery's classes if he had adopted levels of achievement assessment - but that may have been extended to his own performance indicators with whatever consequences. Could someone please identify Mr Emery for me on one of the Panorama pics?

Years at KBGS e.g. 1958-1964 (optional) 52-60

Current location (optional) Lincoln

Terry - 1960 detail 4 - Emery, I believe, is sitting at Brian Paynes' right, looking a little foolish.

Years at KBGS e.g. 1958-1964 (optional) 58-65

Current location (optional) leeds

Oh dear - this wasn't a woman infiltrating 3G2, so I must apologise for a slip of the keyboard which enabled her to get in! Of course, the submission was mine. One thing I forgot to add on my previous posting was that Mr. Cullingford didn't brutalise us but, from what I remember, kept order and gained our respect even to this day. Thanks, Terry, for your input on the selection procedure. The irony is that, although we were supposed to be the creme de la creme, many of the so-called "failures" at 11 managed to learn trades which then enabled them to earn far more in the working world than the also-rans from the grammar school.

Years at KBGS e.g. 1958-1964 (optional) 58-63

Current location (optional) Exeter