Rapes reported at Harrogate's Army Foundation College

All army recruits aged 16 and 17 are trained at the college in Harrogate

Nine rapes were reported to police at a military college for 16 and 17-year-olds in just over a year, newly-released figures show.

They were among 13 sexual offences said to have taken place at Harrogate's Army Foundation College and reported to North Yorkshire Police, according to a Freedom of Information (FOI) request.

The college provides military training and education for junior soldiers.

An Army spokesman said it had a "zero-tolerance policy on sexual offences".

The figures were revealed in a FOI request from Child Rights International Network (CRIN), with the incidents reported to police between 22 July 2022 and 17 August 2023.

In addition to the reports of rape, two complaints of sexual assault and two of voyeurism were also made during the same period.

North Yorkshire Police said all nine reports of rape related to one incident said to have taken place in 2021.

An Ofsted report published in 2021 previously rated the college's welfare and safeguarding as outstanding.

However, David Gee from CRIN told The Guardian that "on this record, Harrogate cannot be regarded as safe".

In a statement sent to the BBC he described the figures as an "appalling addition to a long record of abuse at the Army's only training centre for 16-year-olds".

"We want ministers to look seriously at raising the military recruitment age to 18, which is now the norm in most of the rest of the world," he said.

UK is one of only 15 countries worldwide to recruit from age 16

According to CRIN, the UK is one of only 15 countries worldwide to recruit military personnel aged from 16 and the only country in Europe to do so.

The Ministry of Defence has defended its recruitment of 16 and 17-year-olds for many years.

In May, defence minister Baroness Goldie told the House of Lords the UK met all "legal policy requirements, both national and international".

She said the military offered "an opportunity to many young people" from diverse and deprived backgrounds and that the Army was an "engine of social mobility".

All recruits aged 16 and 17 in the UK are trained at the college in Harrogate and each year about 1,200 boys and 100 girls begin their military careers there.

In January 2023, an instructor at the college was sentenced to 20 months' military detention and dismissed from the Army after being found guilty at court martial of sexual assault and eight counts of cruel or indecent disgraceful conduct.

A spokesperson for the Army said it was committed to "rooting out all forms of inappropriate behaviour".

"We have a zero-tolerance policy on sexual offences - any personnel convicted of a sexual offence will be dismissed."

They added "strong safeguarding mechanisms" were in place at the college to ensure Junior Soldiers had the right support structures.

"This includes multiple methods of accessing welfare support, including confidential support lines."

The Army said it would not be appropriate to comment on any investigations into allegations which might be ongoing.