The Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry found pupils at Edinburgh Academy suffered sexual, physical and emotional abuse for more than 40 years while the school protected its reputation and ignored complaints.
Pupils at Edinburgh Academy suffered “dreadful abuse” over more than 40 years while the school focused on protecting its reputation and ignored complaints, the Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry (SCAI) has found.
Lady Smith, chair of the SCAI, published findings detailing more than 40 years of sexual, physical and emotional abuse at the private school. The inquiry heard claims of historical abuse against teaching staff, with most of the evidence covering the years between 1954 and 1995.
The report names two long-serving members of staff as perpetrators of abuse: Hamish Dawson, a housemaster and senior school teacher, and John Brownlee, a housemaster and deputy head of the junior school. It also singles out prep school teacher Iain Wares, who went on to abuse pupils at Fettes College and is currently facing extradition proceedings from South Africa; and physics teacher William Bain, who has twice been convicted of sex offences.
Lady Smith said the school had “failed to look at itself through a realistic and critical lens” for decades.
“It is clear it was assumed that abuse did not and would not take place,” she said.
“When it did, the school could not accept that it had happened, failed to address it, and failed to recognise the risk of it continuing. Complacency was the order of the day.
“When complaints were made, they were either disbelieved or left unresolved. Staff chose not to notice and avoided intervention or investigation despite there being obvious signs of abuse.”
The report said sexual abuse extended over four decades, from the 1950s to the 1980s, and included instances of children sexually abusing other children. Physical abuse was “normalised” and children in the Prep School were regularly beaten until corporal punishment was abolished in 1988.
One former pupil, who used the pseudonym Henry, told the inquiry it was normal for 11-year-olds to be groomed with jelly babies and for them to be molested in front of other pupils.
“It was normal to kick, hit, and strangle, to the point of unconsciousness, 10-year-olds. It was normal to inflict physical punishment with a plank of wood with no good reason.”
Henry said grown men subjected children to “psychological belittlement” and that “endless cycles of bullying” went unnoticed or unchecked. He said “flagrant racism, sexism, homophobia” was ignored and there was no safeguarding.
Following the introduction of co-education in the sixth form, girls were the targets of “unpleasant and abusive misogyny”.
The school’s rector, Barry Welsh, said it had an “unwavering” commitment to facing up to “the wrongs of the past”.
“We reiterate our sincere apology to all those affected by any abuse that occurred at our school,” Welsh said.
He added: “We continue to support survivors as fully as we are able whilst also educating our current pupils in a caring and supportive environment.”
The SCAI was set up in October 2015 to look at the abuse of children in care in Scotland. Lady Smith has previously produced reports on abuse carried out at a number of schools, children’s homes and orphanages.
The findings show that abuse at Edinburgh Academy persisted for decades while the school prioritised its reputation over pupil safety. The report adds to the SCAI’s record of institutional failures in Scottish schools and children’s homes, and the school has apologised and pledged to support survivors and educate current pupils in a caring environment.
Sources
This article was drafted with AI assistance and checked against the sources above. Company claims are reported as claims. Cover image is AI-generated.
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