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The Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry has revealed that Fettes College, one of Scotland’s leading private schools in Edinburgh, failed to safeguard its students from sexual and physical abuse over several decades. According to Lady Smith, who chairs the inquiry, the abuse took place regularly from the 1950s through to the late 1980s, perpetrated by both staff members and pupils alike.
Among those implicated was former headmaster Anthony Chenevix-Trench. Lady Smith highlighted his unsuitability for the role, noting that he was appointed despite a known history of excessive corporal punishment and alcohol problems from his previous position at Eton College. The inquiry found that Chenevix-Trench had not only failed to protect students but had also shielded staff members known to have abused children during his tenure as headmaster from 1971 until his death in 1979. Furthermore, the report revealed concerns about his inappropriate attraction to young boys, a fact known to senior figures at Eton before his move to Fettes.
Another former teacher, Iain Wares, had a long history of abusive behavior, according to the inquiry. Wares, now subject to extradition proceedings from South Africa, had been dismissed from previous jobs due to allegations involving children. Despite undergoing treatment at the Royal Edinburgh Hospital aimed at “curing” his inappropriate conduct, Lady Smith found that Wares continued to prey on students during his teaching career at both The Edinburgh Academy and Fettes College from the late 1960s through the 1970s. She criticized the hospital’s consultant psychiatrist, Professor Henry Walton, for failing to act effectively to protect children.
The inquiry also addressed issues beyond direct abuse, reporting that emotional abuse among pupils was common, and that once the school became co-educational in the early 1980s, misogyny and racism were persistent problems well into recent decades. Responding to the findings, Lady Morag Wise, chairwoman of Fettes’ governors, issued an unequivocal apology to victims, condemning the past failures and affirming that such behavior would be intolerable at the school today. She emphasized the significant changes in safeguarding and welfare culture currently in place and expressed a firm commitment to preventing any repetition of past mistakes. Legal representatives for the victims described the inquiry’s conclusions as “extraordinary,” underscoring the extent of suffering endured and condemning the school’s failure to protect its pupils from known abusers
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