Court case[1893] 1 QB 465

On the way to school one morning, a pupil of a board school assaulted another pupil in the street, outside the school premises. The matter was reported to the headmaster, who caned the offending boy for it. Proceedings for assault were then brought against the headmaster on the boy's behalf, on the ground that a headmaster's authority to punish did not extend to conduct outside the school. The question came before the Divisional Court on a case stated by the justices.

The Divisional Court held that the headmaster was justified. The authority delegated by the parent to the schoolmaster is not confined to the school premises; it extends to acts of pupils done on the way to and from school which affect the discipline and welfare of the school, such as an assault by one pupil on another. Since the punishment was for such an act and was not excessive, the headmaster had not committed an assault. It would be unreasonable if a pupil could escape school discipline merely because his misconduct towards a fellow pupil took place outside the school gate.