When was caning abolished in U.K. schools?

Caning, a form of corporal punishment once prevalent in the United Kingdom, was abolished in all British schools by 2003. It was first banned in all British state schools in 1987.

England and Wales banned caning in all schools in 1998. Scotland did not follow suit until 2000, and Ireland was the last of the United Kingdoms to ban school caning in 2003.

Caning involves spanking a clothed child with a flexible rattan rod. Most canings involve the punishment of a male student. Caning of a female student is generally on the palm of the hand rather than on the bottom unless administered by a female teacher. Many former British territories still cane schoolchildren, most notably Singapore and Malaysia.