- What is this website for?
- Who built and maintains this website?
- What was your motivation for building this site?
- I may have bullied you at school. Can I still join the Forum?
- Can I submit missing or original material to the site?
- Why does some of the material seem unrelated?
- Is there a secure way to contact you?
- What should I do if I'm a current Merchiston pupil dealing with abuse by adult staff members or pupils?
- Why donate to this website?
What is this website for?
The Merchiston Castle School - Survivor Research Hub exists as a library, research hub, and news source on historic abuse at the school, through the eyes of former pupils, media coverage, documents, and ongoing legal cases.
This site exists for former pupils, educators, researchers into child abuse, journalists, politicians, and anyone committed to ending institutional child abuse.
Who built and maintains this website?
Nigel Parry attended Merchiston Castle School as a boarding pupil for his O and A-Levels from 1982–1986, entering in Chalmers East, and progressing through Rogerson East, Rogerson West, and Evans House.
Nigel then moved to London to study at the Roehampton Institute of Higher Education, today the University of Roehampton. He graduated with a BA(Hons) in English and Psychology, accredited by the University of Surrey, and stayed on for another year to serve as Student Union President.
Nigel subsequently has had a long career in nonprofit communications, journalism and independent media, human rights research and activism, and website design. Contact Nigel directly via nigelparry.net or via the contact form on this website.
What was your motivation for building this site?
To make research into the historical abuse at Merchiston Castle School easier. Finding, reading, sorting through, and connecting this stuff is exhausting. The less frustrating it is to find what you're looking for—in an intentionally-obfuscated information environment—the better.
It was well over a year into my research before I finally found a hard copy of the Merchiston Castle School Register 1974–1993 in an online second hand bookstore. This period encompasses everything before, during, and after my time at the school, which was 1982-1986.
Reading the book, I finally had access to staff and pupil names and dates to fill out my timeline, and my over one-year-long stressful burden of simply trying to remember accurately was lifted.
My goal here is to collect all media coverage, research reports, and official institutional documents relating to Merchiston in one place and to tag them so they appear in the BY TOPIC section of this site—like an index at the back of a book—to save other Merchiston survivors from having to trudge down the same frustrating research road that I took.
There's a lot to do but this is a good start. Feel free to contribute in any way you can.
I may have bullied you at school. Can I still join the Forum?
Give yourself a break. You were a child or—in some obvious cases—you were a groomed child. Of course you should join the Forum. All former pupils are welcome.
The only reason current pupils should not apply is because that's a whole different legal kettle of fish than the historical abuse being discussed here.
If you're currently at Merchiston and experiencing severe bullying or abuse, see here for suggested resources.
Can I submit missing or original material to the site?
MISSING MATERIAL: Let us know about key media coverage or documents relevant to Merchiston that are not already archived on this site, or any survivor resources that aren't listed on our Resources for Survivors section. Use the contact page for short heads-ups like that.
ORIGINAL MATERIAL: I definitely would like to move towards publishing personal testimonies and original research and writing relating to Merchiston Castle School. Again, get in touch.
HOW TO GET IN TOUCH? Get in touch via our contact page, the same link you'll find top right and bottom right on every page on this site. This form sends email via the Internet directly to the site owner, Nigel Parry. If your communication needs to be more secure, please see below.
Why does some of the material seem unrelated?
If you're seeing an obituary or article mentioning someone that doesn't appear to be connected to the story of abuse at Merchiston, please be patient. The process of tagging obfuscated SCAI content and writing articles showing the connections is still ongoing.
One example is convicted abuser Torquil Johnson-Ferguson, who ran a now-shuttered Ru'a Fiola outward bound activities camp for children on his family-owned private island of Lunga. As well as regular Merchiston visits, shepherded by the infamous Pringle Housemaster James Rainy Brown, the island is linked to at least one other convicted child abuser—hinting at a network of 'like-minded' men operating across Scotland.
The Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry's heavy redaction hand, coupled with under-investigated and undeclared abusers, has resulted in things looking far rosier for many of the institutions than a broadly-researched reality suggests. This site is designed to make the connections, expose the patterns, and end the scourge of Scottish boarding school abuse for future generations of pupils.
Is there a secure way to contact you?
Our contact page is there for general queries but if you want to send any sensitive materials, we have a Secure Evidence Upload page where you can upload text, image, video, and audio files directly through your SSL-secured browser to a secure hidden directory on this secure server.
You can write a letter in many common text document formats, save it and any files with nondescript file names, and upload it or them via the Secure Evidence Upload system without sending any content via email on the open Internet.
Note that submissions via the Secure Evidence Upload page will receive a brief email confirmation of the upload to the email address you provide, that includes a list of the names of files you upload.
The site admin also receives an identical email notification to check the Secure Evidence directory to access your uploaded files.
Given that, it's fine to use "Fake Name" and a fake email address but include your actual contact details in one of your securely-uploaded documents.
Check the Secure Evidence Upload page for more information on how to send files or make contact via Signal, which can also send encrypted files. The page is mostly intended for the secure sending of files rather than regular, ongoing communicaton, so any sustained communication needs to go through Signal.
Signal is a privacy-focused messaging app that offers end-to-end encryption for messages, voice calls, video calls, and shared files, meaning that only the intended participants can read or hear them—not Signal itself or anyone intercepting the communications. It collects very little user data compared with mainstream messaging services, does not rely on advertising, and its code is open source and independently scrutinized, making it particularly attractive for people who value privacy and security. It also provides familiar features such as group chats, disappearing messages, encrypted attachments, and cross-platform desktop and mobile apps, while remaining free to use.
If you want a secure response, include a Signal return address or contact via Signal. If you're fine contacting via the regular Internet, expect an email response.
What should I do if I'm a current Merchiston pupil dealing with abuse by adult staff members or pupils?
If you're experiencing serious abuse either from staff or fellow pupils, independent of the school's system you can contact Childline and Police Scotland directly.
How to phone Childline
Available 24/7. Call 0800 1111.
Police Scotland has a National Child Abuse Investigation Unit (NCAIU) that has been involved in cases of historic abuse at Merchiston and other boarding schools for over a decade, so has all the background and is now experienced in dealing with the institutions.
How to phone Police Scotland
Call 101 for advice and support or call 999 if you or another child is in immediate danger. If you want to remain anonymous, tell the person you’re speaking to you that you want to remain anonymous.
Police Scotland Edinburgh 24/7 Walk-ins
In an emergency situation, St. Leonards Police Station (the primary 24/7 operational police hub and public counter for the Edinburgh division) is found at 14 St Leonards Street, Edinburgh, EH8 9QW.
St. Leonards is accessible by bus via the 45 route from Merchiston Castle School.
First Bus: 6:34 AM
Morning: 7:03 AM, 7:30 AM, 7:56 AM, 8:39 AM, 09:18 AM
Midday: Regular intervals at 15 and 45 minutes past the hour (e.g., 10:15 AM, 10:45 AM, etc.)
Last Bus: 7:24 PM
Get Directions from Google Maps
Web resources for Childline and Police Scotland
- Childline's 1-2-1 onlne chat service
- Police Scotland: How to get help
- Police Scotland: Secure Contact Form
National Child Abuse Investigation Unit (NCAIU) mailing address
National Child Abuse Investigation Unit (NCAIU)
Specialist Crime Division
Police Scotland
West Lothian Civic Centre
Howden South Road
Livingston, EH54 6FF
Why donate to this website?
I'm a freelancer. Donations buy time not hunting down and working on other projects—time to spend working on making this website everything it can be. This process will always be ongoing—regardless of whether I receive donations or not. It's just happening a little slower than I'd like it to.
Learn more about current priorities for the site and donate here.
