Children at one of Scotland’s oldest boarding schools were subjected to sexual, physical and emotional abuse, a study has found.
Staff at Loretto, in Musselburgh, East Lothian, which charges fees of up to £36,945 a year, allowed an abusive teacher, Guy Ray-Hills, to resign rather than be sacked.
Founded in 1827 and whose alumni include ex-Chancellor Alistair Darling and journalist Andrew Marr, Loretto is one of several boarding schools investigated by the £64.6 million Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry (SCAI).
In publishing her findings about the school, SCAI President Lady Smith found that students had been subjected to physical, sexual and emotional abuse, the impact of which on some was and will be ‘lifelong’.
She discovered that a number of Loretto staff members abused children, including Ray-Hills, a French teacher at Loretto Elementary School between 1951 and 1967.
Children at one of Scotland’s oldest boarding schools, Loretto (pictured), were victims of sexual, physical and emotional abuse, a study finds
Lady Smith (pictured) discovered that some of Loretto’s staff abused children, including Ray-Hills, a French teacher at Loretto Elementary School between 1951 and 1967
Teacher rapist ‘just like Weinstein’
A film director told the Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry that he was raped by a teacher whose predatory actions reminded him of Harvey Weinstein, the former Hollywood film mogul imprisoned for a string of sex crimes.
Don Boyd, 75, said Guy Ray-Hills had Weinstein’s ability to charm and manipulate people.
Boyd later became a film and TV director, working with stars such as Laurence Olivier and Dame Helen Mirren. The father of three said Ray-Hills was a French teacher whose lessons were “like street theater.”
Mr Boyd told BBC Scotland in 2021: ‘He used his charm and charisma to great effect. As a child you were prey to that and easily sucked into the need to keep a secret.’
Mr Boyd said Ray-Hills called him one of his ‘special friends’. The abuse began in the teacher’s bedroom in Loretto when Mr. Boyd was 12 and lasted until he left school at 16.
He said, “Not only was I being groomed for sexual assault, but I was also raped as a child. It wasn’t until much later in life that I was able to identify it as rape, but it was.”
Three former students filed criminal charges against Ray-Hills, but the case did not go to court because of his age. He has since passed away.
He was described by Lady Smith as a “prolific sexual predator” who groomed children and engaged in violent sexual relationships with them, some lasting four years.
Lady Smith said: ‘First I want to make it clear that I notice that there were many children who had positive experiences with Loretto and went on to have rewarding adult lives in many ways.
‘There is also no doubt that the school has given many children a good education. However, not all children had positive experiences, and those who did included children who were victims of abuse.
“Children who came aboard Loretto were exposed to risks of sexual, physical and emotional abuse. For many, those risks have become a reality, and I have no doubt that children were abused while in Loretto’s care.”
Lady Smith found Loretto’s response to Ray-Hills’ behavior “woefully inadequate.”
The school has previously apologized for giving him a good job reference after he left. He has since passed away.
Lady Smith also found another teacher grooming a senior student, and four other teachers allegedly touched children inappropriately or made sexual comments that were offensive and distressing to students.
The period covered by the evidence ranged from 1948 to 2021, partly outside the remit of the inquiry, which runs until December 2014. However, Lady Smith said it would have been wrong to cut it short.
Sexual abuse by older children against younger pupils had become normalized in the male-only homes in Loretto, which is now coeducational, Lady Smith said. She found that for decades there had been a lack of oversight and review of the use of corporal punishment by older boys, which she described as a serious shortcoming.
Lady Smith found that bullying, with accompanying physical abuse, inflicted on younger boys by older boys, was a constant with Loretto throughout the 20th century.
Bullying cultures were allowed to prevail due to staff complacency and lack of supervision by them.
Last night a spokesperson for the school said: ‘Today’s report from the SCAI is a strong reminder of the first-hand evidence provided by those who survived abuse while students at Loretto.
Former Chancellor Alistair Darling (left) and journalist Andrew Marr (right) both attended Loretto
“We found listening to survivors’ accounts at the time of the inquiry deeply disturbing, and reading Lady Smith’s report rekindles these feelings: much of its content is deeply disturbing.
“On behalf of the school, we once again express our unreserved apologies and deep regret for the hurt and pain suffered.
“Throughout the investigative process, Loretto has acknowledged the testimony of the survivors and fully acknowledges and respects the courage and determination they have shown.”
