Editing Fagging (section)

==History==
Fagging originated as a structure for maintaining order in boarding schools, when schoolmasters' authority was practically limited to the classroom. [[Thomas Arnold]], headmaster of [[Rugby School|Rugby]] from 1828 to 1841, defined fagging as the power given by the authorities of the school to the Sixth Form, to be exercised by them over younger boys.<ref name="EB1911" /> Fagging was a fully established system at [[St Paul's School, London|St Paul's]], [[Eton College|Eton]], and [[Winchester College|Winchester]] in the sixteenth century.<ref name="EB1911" /><ref name="Johnson" />

Fagging carried with it well-defined rights and duties on both sides. The senior, sometimes called the fag-master, was the protector of his fags and responsible for their happiness and good conduct.<ref name="EB1911" /> In case of any problem outside the classroom, such as bullying or injustice, a junior boy's recourse was to him, not to a form master or housemaster, and, except in the gravest cases, all incidents were dealt with by the fag-master on his own responsibility.<ref name="EB1911" />

The duties undertaken by fags, the time taken, and their general treatment varied widely. Each school had its own traditions and expectations. Until around 1900, a fag's duties would include such humble tasks as blacking boots, brushing clothes, and cooking breakfasts, and there was no limit as to hours the fag would be expected to work.<ref name="EB1911" /> Later, fagging was restricted to such tasks as running errands and bringing tea to the fag-master's study.<ref name="EB1911" /> The 1911 ''[[Encyclopædia Britannica|Britannica]]'' details an evolution of the role at Eton.<ref name="EB1911" /> Under school rules, fagging might involve harsh discipline and [[School corporal punishment|corporal punishment]] when those were standard practices.

In 1930, an inquest into the death of a 14-year-old schoolboy from [[Sedbergh School]] (then in [[West Yorkshire]]) heard that, rather than returning after holidays, he took his life because of his dislike of the fagging system. The jury returned a verdict of suicide and recommended the discontinuation of the practice in public schools.<ref name="nash" /><ref name="thetimes" />

During the late 20th century, fagging became unfashionable in British public schools, as attitudes to boarding education and child development changed. Despite the reluctance of senior boys who had served their time and expected to enjoy the benefits of the system, between the 1960s and 1980s the duties first became less onerous and then the system was abolished at most major public schools;<ref name="nashua telegraph" /> the passing of the [[Children Act 1989]] caused most British schools to ban the practice and it is now obsolete in Britain.<ref name="barekat" />

There is a history of fagging in schools in former British colonies (see [[India#Early modern India|India]],<ref name="indiatimes" /> [[South Africa#British colonisation and the Great Trek|South Africa]]) where fagging continues in a limited form at some schools.<ref name="löser" />

In 2017, the actor [[Simon Williams (actor)|Simon Williams]] described how, as a new pupil at [[Harrow School]] in 1959, he was required to fag for a prefect four years his senior, involving duties such as spit-shining his shoes, making his bed, serving tea, and even warming the toilet seat.<ref name="Fagging" />