During Harry’s time there, Filch constantly complains about the punishments he is and is not allowed to inflict. I do not know as much about the change in societal norms on school punishments in British boarding schools as I would need to know in order to fully evaluate what happens at Hogwarts. That being said, we do know that punishments were more extreme not all that long in the past.
Mrs. Weasley grinned, her eyes twinkling. “Your father and I had been for a nighttime stroll,” she said. “He got caught by Apollyon Pringle he was the caretaker in those days your father’s still got the marks.”1
Note that Mrs. Weasley is not expressing any negative emotion here. She’s recounting something she expects Harry and Bill to hear and accept without much surprise. A Guardian article that is the top Google result when I try to look up corporal punishment in British schools tells me that Harry probably never experienced any, but quite possibly heard about it.2
Rex Tims points out in an authors note that a fifty point penalty is apparently a big deal, but if so, the end of year point totals seem really low.3 This is probably another example of Mrs. Rowling’s poor maths skills.
Mrs. J. K. Rowling. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire Kindle Locations 9206-9208. Pottermore Limited. American Kindle Edition.↩︎
Mr. Jon Walter. “Why I’m glad corporal punishment is now only found in books”. The Guardian 2016-07-01. Last viewed 2020-07-20. The article gives dates for different kinds of Schools. Looking at schools Harry likely attended, 1986 for British state schools, and 2000 for Scottish private schools.↩︎
Rex Tims. Unspoken Words Author’s note in Chapter 15. Nearly Summer Published: 2011-01-03. Updated: 2011-04-03. Last Viewed: 2021-11-09.↩︎