The parents of a child who had his wrists and ankles bound together with cable ties by a private school teacher have expressed their dismay that he was cleared by a sheriff and is continuing to teach. Richard Robin Greenwood was found guilty of assaulting the seven-year-old boy following a three-day trial at Edinburgh Sheriff Court. However, Sheriff Peter McCormack admonished Greenwood and granted him an absolute discharge, saying the court proceedings had been a “lesson learned”.
A teacher at one of Scotland’s leading private schools has been struck off after she admitted having sex with teenage pupils. The unnamed woman said she had had repeated liaisons with a number of boys at the school in Edinburgh between 2014 and 2015. The pupils involved were aged between 17 and 18.
Some of Scotland’s top private schools are being investigated by a national inquiry into child abuse. Gordonstoun–Prince Charles’s former school–and Fettes College, where Tony Blair was a pupil, feature in the statutory probe. Others include Merchiston Castle and Loretto, Scotland’s oldest boarding school. They are among more than 60 residential care establishments identiifed as sites of alleged child abuse or neglect.
Two top public schools attended by Prince Charles and Tony Blair are being investigated by a major national inquiry into child abuse. Gordonstoun, the alma mater of the heir to the throne, and Fettes College – where the former Labour Prime Minister was a pupil – both feature in the statutory probe. Other private schools under investigation include Merchiston Castle School in Edinburgh, Loretto School in Musselburgh and Morrison’s Academy in Crieff.
Gordon Cruden, who taught at the exclusive Merchiston Castle, exposed himself in front of teenage boys at the school but escaped any punishment in December after a trial despite being found guilty.
Police are probing claims a former female teacher at a top private school in Edinburgh had inappropriate relationships with pupils. Merchiston Castle, which is already co-operating with an investigation into claims of historical abuse, contacted the single force over alleged behaviour that is said to have occurred more recently. Earlier this year, the Care Inspectorate “identified concerns about the quality of child protection practice” at the elite school.
