Oh Jim, that does distress me. I taught 30 years, from 50s-80s, and not only in 'nice' districts' by any means — Peckham, a working-class bit of S London my first post, then Stevenage New Town, obviously very mixed intake, then a Cambridge Sec Mod drawing largely from Arbury & Barnwell which the working-class districts of the city, which is quite industrialised and not just an Ancient University, of course; and I never had a colleague who would have said such things, or a head or senior colleague [as I became myself eventually as I said] who would have tolerated any of their staff doing so. {I remember an exasperated colleague at Peckham once saying to a W Indian boy who was playing him up, "Get back to your jungle, black boy", and the Headmaster heard of it and the master was out of the school with no redress the very next morning]. I wonder why it was regarded as OK in the north of the country. I am, as I say, profoundly shocked that such remarks were still being made to pupils during the time of my own career (& perhaps, as you suggest, still go on). Such things just aren't right.

I hope this isn't 'drift' - but all related to concept of "the people", I would suggest.