The horror of child abuse at one of Scotland’s oldest schools – £37,00-a-year Loretto

Children at one of Scotland’s oldest boarding schools were subjected to sexual, physical and emotional abuse, an inquiry has found.

Staff at Loretto, in Musselburgh, East Lothian, which charges fees of up to £36,945-a-year, allowed one abusive teacher, Guy Ray-Hills, to resign rather than being sacked.

Loretto, which was founded in 1827 and whose alumni include ex-Chancellor Alistair Darling and journalist Andrew Marr, is one of several boarding schools investigated by the £64.6million Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry (SCAI).

Publishing her findings about the school, SCAI chairman Lady Smith found pupils endured physical, sexual and emotional abuse, the impact of which on some ‘has been and will be lifelong’.

She found that a number of staff at Loretto abused children, including Ray-Hills, a French teacher at Loretto junior school between 1951 and 1967. 

He was described by Lady Smith as a ‘prolific sexual predator’ who groomed children and established abusive sexual relationships with them, some of which lasted for four years.

Lady Smith said: ‘At the outset, I want to make it clear that I find there were many children who had positive experiences at Loretto and, in many ways, went on to have rewarding adult lives.

‘Also, there is no doubt that the school has provided many children with a good education. However, not all children had positive experiences and amongst those who did, there were children who also suffered abuse.

‘Children who boarded at Loretto were exposed to risks of sexual, physical and emotional abuse. For many, those risks materialised, and I have no doubt that children were abused whilst in Loretto’s care.’

Lady Smith found the response by Loretto to Ray-Hills’s behaviour was ‘woefully inadequate’.

The school has previously apologised for giving a good job reference to him after he left. He has since died.

Lady Smith also found that another teacher groomed a final-year pupil, and four other teachers were reported to have touched children inappropriately or made sexual comments that were offensive and upsetting to pupils.

The period covered in evidence ranged from 1948 to 2021, partly beyond the terms of reference of the inquiry, which covers up to December 2014. However, Lady Smith said it would have been wrong to curtail it.

Sexually abusive conduct by older children towards younger pupils was normalised in the all-male houses at Loretto, which is now co-educational, Lady Smith said. She found there was a lack of oversight and review of the administration of corporal punishment by older boys over decades, which she described as a serious failing.

Lady Smith found bullying, with associated physical abuse, inflicted on younger boys by older boys, was a constant at Loretto throughout the 20th century.

Bullying cultures were allowed to prevail because of staff complacency and a lack of supervision by them.

Last night, a spokesman for the school said: ‘Today’s report from the SCAI has been a stark reminder of the first-hand evidence given by those who survived abuse whilst pupils at Loretto. 

‘We found listening to the accounts from survivors at the time of the inquiry profoundly troubling, and reading Lady Smith’s report reignites these feelings: much of the content is deeply disturbing. 

‘On behalf of the school, we reaffirm our unreserved apology and deep regret for the hurt and pain suffered.

‘Throughout the process of the inquiry, Loretto has acknowledged the testimony of the survivors, and fully recognises and respects the courage and the determination that they have shown.’