Britain | The silent treatment

Why super-strict classrooms are in vogue in Britain

An instructive visit to the Michaela school in north London

A vintage postcard featuring pupils in the Study Hall at St John's, Beaumont College, an all-boys's Jesuit preparatory school in Windsor, Berkshire, circa 1910.  (Photo by Paul Popper/Popperfoto via Getty Images)
Image: Getty Images
|Wembley, North London

To understand how discipline is changing in British schools, go to Michaela Community School in north London. Among the first things you see are vast bright billboards. Whereas other schools coax pupils, cosset them with congratulations and avoid marking in red pen lest they sear young souls, Michaela has no truck with such softness. “I am the MASTER of my fate”, reads one billboard, in unrepentantly large capitals. “Work HARD Be KIND”, reads another. “Especially”, barks a third, “when it is DIFFICULT”.

This article appeared in the Britain section of the print edition under the headline “The silent treatment ”

From the January 21st 2023 edition

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