Shameful

[Whizzywo]

This article is so startling. The big name schools threatened and so it was buried online. But surely these schools must just apologise for their past and then move on. Many of us have a friend or family member who was abused at one of these schools and have seen that it is never forgotten, the abuse festers horribly deeply for a lifetime.
www.thetimes.co.uk/article/the-painful-truth-behind-british-boarding-schools-by-1-000-sunday-times-readers-zqj0vzqvc

Do you have a share token?

My take on these articles is that they tend to describe what happened in boarding schools in the 60s and 70s. Louis de Bernieres was at school in the 1960s so must be in his 70s now. Experiences were awful, but society in general was totally different then. Corporal punishment, psychological abuse (belittling children, criticising appearance and tics, locking them in the cellar etc ) etc were all accepted forms of discipline in schools and in some homes. Bullying was rife everywhere. Tiny children were taken into hospital and parents were only allowed to visit for an hour a day. Sexual abuse was just not talked about and I suspect many believed - erroneously- that it did not exist. “The past is another country”

I think all schools - boarding and day- and other similar institutions have upped their game since then. Errors have been acknowledged, safeguarding is transformed. There is just no comparison between the schools of today and those of half a century ago. It is like comparing experiences on womens rights, or race relations, or homosexuality with in the 60s with those of today.

@Weihnachtsmarkt
But some of these schools were harbouring sexual predators until very recently. Look at Clifton College less than 10 years ago. I think the most shameful thing is the amount of brushing under carpet that went on by schools and parents to save reputations (and still does in some schools in the era of Everyone Is Invited)
My DB was at one of these big name schools (he is 48) and had two friends who were preyed on and it took several years for the teacher to be replaced - and he went on to another school!!!!! Another friend was at the big name catholic school in the late 80’s and early 90’s and became a ‘favoured’ pupil. He is hauntedand a alcoholic.
So I am afraid saying it was a thing of the 60’s 70’s is just not true.

These schools wouldn’t try and shut down articles if everyone thought this was only from the very distant past? They must think there is some damage to be done?

There are sexual predators everywhere. State schools, police, clergy, NHS, family homes, taxi drivers, men in back bedrooms abusing children in developing countries remotely. I suspect that will never change. What has changed is societal awareness and safeguarding so it is more difficult for them and the penalties are greater.

I went to a very ordinary state school in the 70s where male teachers were in overt sexual relationships with the students. One married a 16 year old as soon as she left the school. The school choir sang at the wedding! Standards were different then.

There is a strange British obsession with rich people and boarding schools. I guess it sells newspapers.

Can someone share the article so we know what we are discussing?

Here you go!

www.thetimes.co.uk/article/7cc53cb2-492e-11ec-9b62-734d2c1aba52?shareToken=0e916d1740ad9f8829b3538463d5c3a2

@SmaugMum thank you.
That made for absolutely horrible reading and will stay with me for a long time. What shocked me is how recently some of these things happened.
I suffered at boarding school, was bullied by a member of staff and the house pastoral care was horrific - an incompetent, lazy couple barely watching over the lives of 45 girls. But it was nothing like the picture painted by these poor people. I hope that they are receiving help for what happened to them and that these schools have the guts to apologise for their past behaviour and continue to learn from mistakes.
I have lots of friends abroad who are baffled by our public school system and why people would send their young children away . But plenty of others from Russia and China seem to love the system.

I went to an ordinary state school where a pupil was having a relationship with a 12 year old,

@Xion
Horrible things happen at all schools for sure. But there is a particular horror to being trapped day and night in the place where you are abused, and I think only those who have boarded could understand how absolute that particular form of abuse can be, so far from other loved ones. Of course no one is saying it doesn’t happen in homes and in day schools, but that isn’t the subject of this thread, it isn’t a ‘compare and contrast’ question, it is one that pays respect to the victims at these particular type of schools.