VIOLENT ABUSE AT KING'S OLD SCHOOL

Gordonstoun rife with emotional, physical and sexual cruelty, says SCAI

- JOHN DINGWALL

CHILDREN at the King's tough Scottish school were abused over a long period of time with an "extremely violent culture".

Lady Smith, chair of the Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry (SCAI), published her findings yesterday on Gordonstoun in Moray and its associated junior school Aberlour.

She ruled that children who boarded at both establishments were exposed to sexual, physical and emotional abuse.

Lady Smith said: "I have no difficulty in finding that children were abused at Gordonstoun and Aberlour in a variety of ways over a long period of time.

She added: "It was only after 1990 and the appointment of a headmaster who understood the importance of pastoral care that abuse eventually began to be addressed and a measure of trust was restored.