Scotland deserves separate treatment.
For a considerable period, the school belt or tawse was widely used in many Scottish state schools and was applied to both boys and girls.
Minor offences could result in punishment to the hand, and because the practice was relatively commonplace, former pupils may remember it rather differently from pupils in parts of England.
Scottish women, for example, have often appeared quite willing in public discussions to mention being belted at school.
This may reflect the fact that receiving the belt did not necessarily imply unusually serious misconduct.
When the Scottish part of the survey is undertaken, it will therefore be interesting to compare the male-to-female ratio with the figures from England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
