This was an unannounced inspection which took place onsite on 18 November 2025 between 12:00 and 19:30, 19 November between 08:50 and 19:30, 20 November between 08:50 and 14:00, 24 November between 08:50 and 19:30 and 25 November between 07:50 and 14:00. The inspection was carried out by six inspectors from the Care Inspectorate
Bullying
“The bullying in the main school was particularly shocking. It was rife. There was a ‘lord of the flies’ culture. As I’d grown up moving around with my parents I was quite mature in some ways. I remember I had been back chatting to prefects in Rogerson. I woke up in the middle of the night with two of them holding me down and punching me in my bed. I think they had decided that I needed to learn my lesson. They were sixth formers but I don’t remember who they were.”——Mark (CCY), pupil from 1981–1987, SCAI Witness Statement (11 September 2018)
Boarding school ‘protected abusers’ for six decades, inquiry concludes
A report into the exclusive Merchiston Castle School has concluded that for 60 years, “abusers were protected by tradition”. Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry chairwoman Lady Smith has published her findings on the provision of residential care at the Edinburgh boarding school, concluding that over almost six decades, there was a “more or less continuous line of indecency” from two named perpetrators.
‘Dreadful abuse’ at boarding school for boys ‘normalised for generations’
Abuse at a boarding school for boys in Edinburgh was “normalised for generations”, the chair of the Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry has said. Lady Smith published her findings on Wednesday relating to the provision of residential care for children at Merchiston Castle School in Edinburgh.
Abuse at top school ‘like Lord of the Flies’
Former pupils at a Scottish boarding school have told how they were touched inappropriately and received brutal beatings in scenes akin to Lord of the Flies. The Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry heard evidence that teachers at Merchiston Castle in Edinburgh, one of the country’s most expensive private schools, mistreated the children.
Care Inspectorate – Merchiston External Inspection Report (1 December 2021)
Pupil comment: “We are forced to go to chapel. The teachers say it is not solely for Christianity and any religion is welcome, but they sing Christian hymns and pray to the Christian god. I’d rather not go to chapel.”
Predatory culture is an issue not just for boys, says Merchiston Castle School head
The head of a boys-only independent boarding school has told an inquiry that concerns of a “predatory culture” are an issue for all schools. Jonathan Anderson, headmaster at Merchiston Castle School in Edinburgh, said it was “not fair” to single out boys-only schools over the issue. Giving evidence at the Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry, Anderson said his school had done a “harrowing” review of files and accepted there may have been abuse between 1930, when the school moved to Colinton, and 2014.
Headteacher of £35,000-a-year Merchiston Castle in Edinburgh tells child sex abuse inquiry it’s not fair to blame all-boys’ schools for ‘predatory culture’ among young men
Care Inspectorate – Merchiston External Inspection Report (19 September 2019)
All of the detail that is not present here is readily accessible to staff. Why not just have it ready to go in copy and paste format for official reports like this? The reports ask the same questions each time? The school calendar exists already and doesn’t change too much. This report does not put on the record how life at the school is organized, either hour by hour or day by day.
Merchiston Pupils: “Mark (CCY)” – SCAI Witness Statement (11 September 2018)
Care Commission – Merchiston External Inspection Report (13 March 2007)
The school had recently reviewed their child protection policies and procedures. A governor will be nominated as the Child Protection Representative on the governing board in the near future.
Care Commission/HMIE – Merchiston External Inspection Report (25 October 2005)
“Around a third of pupils expressed concerns about the safety of their belongings, lack of quiet places, the toilet facilities and the lack of privacy when showering or changing.”
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