Former Fettes pupil tells of 'horrendous' abuse

The man was a pupil at Fettes College in the 1970s

A former pupil at one of Scotland's top private schools said he was subjected to "horrendous" sexual abuse at the hands of one of its teachers.

The man, now in his 50s, said the assaults took place at Edinburgh's Fettes College in the 1970s.

His testimony has been submitted in written form to the Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry.

Fettes College said his story was "harrowing" and that it took all claims of sexual abuse "extremely seriously".

The man, who wants to remain anonymous, told his story to BBC Radio Scotland's Drivetime programme.

'A raging temper'

He said abuse regularly took place in a classroom full of students while he was attending the preparatory school.

He said his abuser would call boys, who were aged 11 or 12 years old, up to his desk, where he would touch them underneath their shorts.

"This was a regular occurrence. I couldn't even tell you how many times it happened, but it happened a lot," he said.

"The master concerned was initially a very likeable man but fairly soon we saw that he had a raging temper. He would pick boys up on the slightest of faults, shake them violently by the hair and bang their heads off the desk.

"I suppose that is how the abuser got away with what he got away with, because you were too frightened to say anything.

"This molestation, this abuse, nobody talked about it."

'Buried away'

He said there were two or three times where the abuse he suffered was "more extreme".

"I didn't tell my parents, I didn't know how to describe what was happening to me, it was all buried away," he added.

"It was only in my 20s that the gravity of what had happened to me started to sink in.

"I would only talk about it when I had consumed alcohol and then depression started to set in."

He went to counselling a couple of years ago and cites that as the reason he found the strength to come forward to report the abuse.

He added: "I sincerely hope my abuser is brought to justice."

'Extremely harrowing'

Police Scotland have confirmed that, following a referral from the Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry, they are investigating multiple claims against his alleged abuser, who is still alive.

A force spokeswoman said inquiries are "at an early stage and ongoing".

The victim's lawyers have also been approached by other potential victims.

A Fettes College spokesman said: "This story is extremely harrowing for anyone to hear. Fettes College takes all claims of non-recent child abuse extremely seriously and we would encourage anyone with an allegation to contact both Police Scotland and the Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry.

"Fettes College co-operates fully with all relevant authorities in any case of alleged abuse.

"If someone contacts the school directly, our safeguarding team is fully trained to deal with any inquiries, all allegations are passed to Police Scotland for investigation and details are sent to the Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry."