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.
The headmaster of a leading boarding school [Jonathan Anderson] has acknowledged that a failure to root out child abuse has had a “profound and damaging” impact on the lives of former pupils. Jonathan Anderson, who took over at £35,00-a-year Merchiston Castle School in Edinburgh in 2018, said yesterday that his experience of hearing and giving evidence at the Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry had taught him that victims remained troubled by their experiences “for ever”.
A teacher who had sex with boys at a top boarding school should have been publicly named as her misconduct represented the ‘highest end of severity’—according to a lawyer for the profession’s regulator.
A teacher at a £29,000 Scottish residential school has agreed to be struck off after having sex with pupils on the premises. But Scotland’s teaching watchdog has been criticised over the case after it agreed to keep the name of the teacher and school secret.
The head teacher of £29,000-a-year Merchiston Castle in Edinburgh apologised as his former colleague was struck off for romps with teenagers.
A second charge stated that: ‘During the 2014/15 session, you did on school premises, repeatedly engage in sexual intercourse with male pupils who were then aged between 17 and 18 years. ‘During February 2015, you did repeatedly send by electronic means, videos of a sexually explicit nature to a male pupil. It was added that the teacher also communicated with pupils over a Facebook group created by pupils called Organised Bullying.
The 34-year-old woman was thrown out of the profession following a police probe at all-boys Merchiston Castle School in Edinburgh. Fees for boarders can run to £29,000 a year and famous former pupils include Scotland rugby star Sam Hidalgo-Clyne.
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.
