Unofficial Christ's Hospital Forum

Oh dear ...

Police have arrested three former members of staff at a top boarding school on suspicion of historical sex abuse against pupils.

The men, all aged in their 60s, were arrested in an investigation into events at Christ's Hospital in Horsham, West Sussex.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/11 ... se-invest/

Interesting.

I will have to watch the press more closely in the future, However, I'm sure Julian would agree with me when I say that any Forum posters wishing to comment on this thread be extremely careful in their use of their words.

Yes, agree with J.R.
I don't feel this, nor other social media, is the place for comment on this, particularly as it's an ongoing investigation and we don't want any risk of jeopardising any enquiries, or similarly speculating about who might or might not be involved.

Anyone affected by this news, or with any information potentially relating to this, should contact the police rather than discussing it here.

Thanks.

Julian

I think most of the 'regulars' here on this forum would have long left CH looking at the ages given in the report for the alleged perpetrators and are thus unlikely to have encountered them.

Terrible publicity for the school and in the press reports I read; they all mentioned that school fees were 31 500£ a year and no mention of the charitable side.

At least the DT said

Christ's Hospital charges boarders up to £31,500 a year and counts Sir Barnes Wallis, inventor of the bouncing bomb, and poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge among its former pupils. Bursaries are granted to 75% of students who receive between 5% and 100% assistance with their boarding fees according to their household income.

They did an article on CH in their Sunday Magazine some years ago, and I got the impression that there was an OB working or closely related to a reporter at the Telegraph. I have no idea whether the £31,500 is correct, but at least they mention the bursaries.

Con Coughlin, the Defence Editor, is an OB!

Terrible publicity for the school

Well, I think most people are aware that most institutions back then probably had their abusers and whether they are ever caught is a matter of chance. And they also understand that times have changed in the past 30-40 years. Teachers these days are scared of going within arm's length of a child. Not to mention the possibility of instant pictures and instant communication.

Let me start by stating that although I was at CH during the timeframe, I cant speak to the individual cases involved the current allegations. I can however, speak in more general terms

Yes I would agree that there always will be some bad apples, however, I think that there was a culture of ignoring this sort of stuff at CH, and by ignoring and getting the police involved, CH enabled and facilitated abuse.

I distinctly remember several quite dodgy members of staff, who appeared to be drunk a lot, who suddenly left mid-term, with no explanation, in a cloud of rumour. The ones I remember from the 90s were in their 50s to 60s and thus are not the ones in the media who are in their 60s now.

Personally I think that the school should be held responsible, and anyone who knew about this sort of stuff and did not go to the police should be held accountable.

Can anyone say who was at CH in the 80s or 90s that they are surprised by these allegations? I mean given that school policy was to actively encourage a hierarchical structure that promoted bullying and borderline abuse?

I wasn't going to comment at any length on this. However times change.

One only has to look at the Culture of the BBC in the 60's and 70's. It now appears the men at the top knew exactly what was going on and even condoned it to a certain extent.

Operation 'Yew Tree' changed all that, and quite right too !

RusticationPhil wrote:Let me start by stating that although I was at CH during the timeframe, I cant speak to the individual cases involved the current allegations. I can however, speak in more general terms

Yes I would agree that there always will be some bad apples, however, I think that there was a culture of ignoring this sort of stuff at CH, and by ignoring and getting the police involved, CH enabled and facilitated abuse.

Look at your own next paragraph

RusticationPhil wrote:I distinctly remember several quite dodgy members of staff, who appeared to be drunk a lot, who suddenly left mid-term, with no explanation, in a cloud of rumour. The ones I remember from the 90s were in their 50s to 60s and thus are not the ones in the media who are in their 60s now.

Personally I think that the school should be held responsible, and anyone who knew about this sort of stuff and did not go to the police should be held accountable.

You and I don't know why they suddenly left and whether or not the police were informed. If the police were informed (and I strongly consider it likely) that does not mean that the CPS or police considered that they had enough evidence to get a conviction. Just remember that the school, as employer, needs to have compelling evidence to sack someone /"let them go" but that may not be enough to get a criminal conviction OR it may have been felt that the victims would suffer more by being exposed to public ridicule

RusticationPhil wrote:Can anyone say who was at CH in the 80s or 90s that they are surprised by these allegations? I mean given that school policy was to actively encourage a hierarchical structure that promoted bullying and borderline abuse?

There have been enough statements in this forum about staff suddenly disappearing to suggest that, yes, the school has acted suitably in the past, even long before your time; it is not and was not like the Magdalen homes of Baile Atha Cliath. I would remind you that there was a Parliamentary investigation over the treatment of one boy and that was in the 1800's. We do not know and will probably never know what happens behind the scenes; it is not impossible that the school provided some of the evidence against these three.

Boarding schools in out-of-the-way places with children from backgrounds that vary from good to limited (CH particularly here) are always a natural target for predators. To say nothing of the snobbery and self-entitlement they encourage (witness this site). Close them down, I say.

sejintenej wrote:

RusticationPhil wrote:Let me start by stating that although I was at CH during the timeframe, I cant speak to the individual cases involved the current allegations. I can however, speak in more general terms

Yes I would agree that there always will be some bad apples, however, I think that there was a culture of ignoring this sort of stuff at CH, and by ignoring and getting the police involved, CH enabled and facilitated abuse.

Look at your own next paragraph

RusticationPhil wrote:I distinctly remember several quite dodgy members of staff, who appeared to be drunk a lot, who suddenly left mid-term, with no explanation, in a cloud of rumour. The ones I remember from the 90s were in their 50s to 60s and thus are not the ones in the media who are in their 60s now.

Personally I think that the school should be held responsible, and anyone who knew about this sort of stuff and did not go to the police should be held accountable.

You and I don't know why they suddenly left and whether or not the police were informed. If the police were informed (and I strongly consider it likely) that does not mean that the CPS or police considered that they had enough evidence to get a conviction. Just remember that the school, as employer, needs to have compelling evidence to sack someone /"let them go" but that may not be enough to get a criminal conviction OR it may have been felt that the victims would suffer more by being exposed to public ridicule

RusticationPhil wrote:Can anyone say who was at CH in the 80s or 90s that they are surprised by these allegations? I mean given that school policy was to actively encourage a hierarchical structure that promoted bullying and borderline abuse?

There have been enough statements in this forum about staff suddenly disappearing to suggest that, yes, the school has acted suitably in the past, even long before your time; it is not and was not like the Magdalen homes of Baile Atha Cliath. I would remind you that there was a Parliamentary investigation over the treatment of one boy and that was in the 1800's. We do not know and will probably never know what happens behind the scenes; it is not impossible that the school provided some of the evidence against these three.

I don't think sudden disappearances mean that the school acted suitably at all. If the incident is not reported to the police, and the teacher is free to go to another school, thats borderline enabling. IF the school did provide evidence that would suggest they have been hiding it for 20 plus years. I think your point about not informing the police to save "embarassment" is partially true, but not it's not victim embarrassment but institutional embarrassment they were worried about.

I agree with the other poster- these schools should be closed. Don't get me wrong I made a lot of good friends at CH, I have some good memories and probably wouldnt have got where I am today without CH..nonetheless there is no way I would send my kids there. To be honest I find the whole chariatble status to be a complete joke. A handful of poor kids get helped (less chance than winning the lottery for the average poor kid to end up in CH), so a huge bunch of middle class and rich kids can get a tax free school. Give me a break!!! We should fund all schools equally. And having half the government attending these schools just makes the whole system continue, MPs dont need to fund regular schools cos the elite can send their kids to private schools!

[Moderated]

I'm letting this run for now, but please avoid naming people, whether opinion or for any other reason.

I am loath to moderate this topic excessively or lock this topic, but will do so if I have to.

I'd also like remind everyone of the Acceptable Use Policy, and that this isn't the place for speculation, defamation or accusation. If anyone has information they feel pertinent, I'd encourage you to contact the police directly to aid with their enquiries, rather than potentially jeopardising the enquiries by speculation here.

Policy:- viewtopic.php?f=17&t=2849

I don't think anyone is in the business of naming anyone, Julian. I think some ex-pupils are now taking the opportunity to give a good airing to the whole question of boarding schools - the pros and cons. Like Phil, I had some good times at CH and was grateful for the education but that puts us in the psychological bind that Nick Duffell talks about in his books (his then editor was an old Blue, Rob Bland) in which we feel guilty about complaining and tend to gloss over what Phil and I plainly feel is an unfair system and outdated in the world today. Nowhere else in developed Europe has this system.