We're not sure what this unruly ‘pupil’ had done, but he certainly earned the displeasure of the teacher.

Maths master Sydney Brookfield was administering the type of punishment this class could have expected in their days at Southfield School in Oxford.

The ‘pupil’ – we know him only as Brian – gave a suitable squirm as his ear was twisted, but we suspect this was just for the benefit of Oxford Mail photographer Jon Lewis.

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The smiles of his fellow ‘pupils’ suggest the pain wasn’t too great!

The picture was taken in 1999 by which time such punishment, of course, had been discouraged if not totally outlawed.

Former pupil Ken Brown had organised a 50-year reunion for fellow students who attended the school off Glanville Road, East Oxford, in the post-war period.

He recalled at the time: “Mr Brookfield was absolutely brilliant as a teacher. He had empathy with students and time for everybody. He was Southfield.

“His memory was amazing. I’ve never known anyone with a memory like his. He could recall any school student and he kept every copy of The Recorder, the school magazine.

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“I could pick a name out of the magazine and he would talk about them. You could pick a subject and he would talk about it. His mind was absolutely sharp until the last 12 or 18 months.”

Mr Brookfield, of Woodstock Road, Oxford, taught at Southfield from its opening in 1934 for more than 30 years and attended many of the annual reunions Mr Brown organised. He died in 2008, aged 97.

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About the author 

Andy is the Trade and Tourism reporter for the Oxford Mail and you can sign up to his newsletters for free here. 

He joined the team more than 20 years ago and he covers community news across Oxfordshire.

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