Borstal

In the United Kingdom, a Borstal was a juvenile detention centre or reformatory, an institution of the criminal justice system, intended to reform delinquent youths aged between about 16 and 21 years old.

The Gladstone Committee (1895) proposed the concept, wishing to separate youths from older males in adult prisons, and the first school was established at Borstal Prison in Borstal, near Rochester in north Kent in 1902.

The regime in these institutions was highly regulated, with a focus on education, routine, discipline and authority. Breaking the rules could result in physical punishment.

The Criminal Justice Act 1982 abolished the borstal system, introducing 'Youth Custody Centres' instead.

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Borstal Boy (1958) was an autobiographical story by Brendan Behan which inspired a 2000 film of the same name.

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Borstal Breakout was a 1978 single by a British punk band Sham 69.