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.
More than 60 residential care establishments for youngsters are being investigated by the team working on Scotland’s national child abuse inquiry. Lady Smith, the inquiry chairwoman, has revealed they are among more than 100 locations where the abuse of children is alleged to have taken place. Boarding schools, institutions run by religious orders and local authorities are among the establishments being probed.
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.
Two men in their sixties, believed to be ex-staff members, have been charged as a result of a police investigation relating to the exclusive Merchiston Castle school in Edinburgh. Based in Colinton in the south west of the city, Merchiston Castle is Scotland’s only all-boys independent boarding school.
