Teachers referring to pupils by surname

[George 1978]

Did any of the teachers refer to pupils by surname only when at school? I know that some did when calling out the class register, mostly because the surname was listed before the first name in the register.

It seems like a dated sort of thing used by strict teachers, elderly ones, or senior ones - think Bronson or most pre-1985 merger Grange Hill series, and it was mostly the male teachers referring to the male pupils. Just like the penal system or the army, one assumes it is to uphold discipline and order, and tradition.

The conservativeness of surnames does go against the liberalness of first names being used - at all my my schools, first names were always used, but then again, in Infant and Junior schools, we didn't have school uniform. I believe that it is the old-school (if you excuse the pun) establishments such as grammar schools that used to do that, along with the elite High Schools and those which still had "six if the best" corporal punishment in use.

Surely they don't do it anymore unless they really get angry with a pupil, do they?

[darren]

in my school life i never me or any pupil been called by any other name other than there 1st name.

Maybe outside of the islands its different.
Maybe been called mr john or mr peter would be a beeter way to address pupils shows more respect.

[catflap]

Was called by my surname at junior school for a while (mid 70s), but never during senior.

I remember a teacher did it during some sort of school outdoor event for families and my gran tore him off a strip. He was a nice guy, so he just wilted!

[CharlieBrown]

Would have probably happened more in private or boarding schools.

I remember it being a mixture of both at my private school. Some teachers would call you by your first name whilst others would use your surname. I think it depended on the situation.

With fellow pupils anything went really.

[Semi42]

Being educated in a comp, leaving in the early 80’s , there was a lot of kids in the school.
understandably, teachers only would only call you by name if you were remembered by being exceptional or trouble .
Female teachers would usually call you by your first name, Male teachers always by your surname.
most times for me I was addressed “You, Boy!”

[Pussywillow]

**** Grammar school. Of course surnames at all times. Even between pupils, unless you'd known them before.

[HG]

On a similar theme did anyone call friends by their surname instead of their first? Even now some friends still call me by my surname and I still refer to some friends by surname.

[George 1978]

Yes, it happened to one or two people in my year - I suppose that if someone was called John or David but had a very distinct or unusual surname, it seemed definitive that they were referring to that person and no one else.

[George 1978]

A bit like Blakey in On the Buses methinks...

[johnnybear]

I hated being referred to by my surname! I found it humilliating!
JB

[Big Tim]

At Primary (1986/7 - 1991), and only on rare occasions by one very "old-school" teacher, and then it was if he was in an agitated frame of mind, i.e. dishing out a good telling off (!) and he'd forgotten that it was nearing the 1990's, and not the start of his career 35+ years previous.

Never at Secondary (1991-1998) was I, nor others I knew addressed by our surnames. We also had a Sixth Form, and in classroom environments / Sixth Form only areas most teachers (who only a few months earlier had been respectfully approached with a "sir" or "miss") were more than happy for us to address them by their christian name. However, it was back to formalities, or at least "Mr" / "Mrs" / "Miss" etc if we were in places such as the corridor / dining hall etc and pupils from lower years were close-by.

[George 1978]

I hated being referred to by my surname! I found it humilliating!
JB

Sorry to hear that, Bear.

[johnnybear]

That's okay, 1978!
JB

[George 1978]

That's okay, 1978!
JB

Yes, both me and Richard have the same surname.

[HampshirePete]

Only at grammar school. Boys were called by surnames but girls by full forenames. All teachers were either sir or Miss. Nowadays kids seem to call teachers by first names!