Scottish child abuse investigation finds pupils ‘horribly mistreated’ at military boarding school

Children attending a military boarding school whose former boss was Prince Philip were subjected to “terrible abuse”, an investigation has found.

Pupils at Queen Victoria School (QVS) in Dunblane, Perthshire, were beaten in an environment where “violence was allowed to prevail”, according to the Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry (SCAI). worth £85 million.

The victims were physically and emotionally abused by teachers and older children, which should have been “obvious” to those responsible for running the school, SCAI president Lady Smith said.

The youngsters were beaten or hit by “a small number of teachers” with belts, slippers, a cricket bat and wooden dusters – “under the guise of corporal punishment”.

Older children would also subject younger children to “cruel and terrifying behavior”, such as tying them to chairs and putting bags over their heads.

Drum instructor James Clark, jailed in 2021, ‘openly groomed’ his students

The Queen Victoria School in Dunblane is for the children of servicemen.

The QVS was formed by a Royal Warrant initiated by Queen Victoria but promulgated by her son, King Edward VII, who signed it in 1905. The school was established with the initial aim of providing support and education to the sons of Scottish military personnel of ranks other than officers. .

Retired judge Lady Smith made her remarks about the school as the latest volume of her inquiry’s findings was published yesterday. She said: “The students at QVS were all boarders and they were at risk of sexual, physical and emotional abuse.

“For many of them, these risks materialized and the children became victims of abuse.

“I have no difficulty in concluding that children were abused by members of staff whose abusive practices were such that they must, or at least should have, been obvious to those in positions of responsibility. In addition, they were mistreated by senior students and other students, some of whose practices should or should have been obvious.

“It was incorrectly assumed that the context and governance of the school would be sufficient to provide appropriate residential care.”

The former judge said that “for many decades, particularly from the late 1950s to the early 1990s, this assumption was ill-founded and, in fact, the children for whom the school was responsible were mistreated.”

She concluded: “The current leadership, commissioners and the Ministry of Defense now understand that there is no room for complacency given the abuses that have taken place since 2010 despite the systems and policies to protect childhood that were put in place.

“QVS has apologized for the abuse suffered by the children in its care.”

Lady Smith said two teachers sexually assaulted pupils in different decades.

Ben Philip, a teacher at QVS between 1973 and 1993, groomed and abused “several P6 boys”.

The SCAI president said Philip – now deceased – used “a mixture of kindness and intimidation towards vulnerable children to present himself as a father figure”.

James Clark, a drum teacher, was jailed for one year and nine months in 2021 for abusing seven students between 2011 and 2019, including through “indecent assault”.

He “maintained them openly… in order to seek to normalize sexualized behavior.”

A Ministry of Defense spokesperson said on behalf of QVS: “Every child deserves to feel safe and protected and the experiences of former QVS students were completely unacceptable. We have worked extensively on the investigation and the school is committed to ensuring this never happens again.