Chicken pulka – it was PH, a rabbi C was then principal (1990’S). He was eventually “moved on”. They also did it if kids forgot their sneakers [trainers] for their weekly sports sesion.
It was both painful and humiliating for the children, and I did not mean it as such serious advice. There was once a whole thread here on confiscating shoes in schools – you can probbaly find it under chinuch.