UK

Military boarding school pupils subjected to ‘dreadful abuse’, inquiry finds

Simon Johnson
Tue 22 October 2024 

Queen Victoria School has been described as a place where ‘violence was allowed to prevail’ - PA Images/Alamy


Pupils attending a military boarding school decades ago were subjected to “dreadful abuse” in an environment where “violence was allowed to prevail”, the chairman of an inquiry has found.

Lady Smith, who chairs the Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry, said children attending the Queen Victoria School (QVS) in Dunblane were physically and emotionally abused by teachers and older children.

Children were beaten or hit by “a small number of teachers” with belts, slippers, a cricket bat and wooden dusters “under the guise of corporal punishment”, she said.


Older pupils would also subject younger ones to “cruel and terrifying behaviour” such as tying them to chairs and putting bags over their heads.

QVS was constituted by a royal warrant initiated by Queen Victoria but enacted by her son, King Edward, who signed it in 1905.

The school was established with the initial aim to provide support and education to sons of Scottish servicemen of ranks other than officers.

Lady Smith made her remarks about the school as the latest volume of her inquiry findings were published on Tuesday.

She said: “The pupils at QVS were all boarders and they were exposed to risks of sexual, physical, and emotional abuse. For many of them, those risks materialised and children suffered abuse.

“I have no difficulty in finding that children were abused by staff whose abusive practices were such that they must, or at least ought to, have been obvious to those in positions of responsibility.

“Further, they were abused by senior and other pupils, some of whose practices must or ought to have been obvious. It was mistakenly assumed the background and governance of the school would be enough to provide appropriate residential care.”

But she said this assumption was “ill-founded”, particularly between the late 1950s and early 1990s, and factors including inadequate management and “undue adherence to a robust military culture” enabling abuse to occur.

“The culture of the school was such that pupils were subjected to initiation ceremonies, there was a hierarchy that enabled abuse of power by senior pupils, differences were not tolerated, and pupils were, at times, not treated as the children they were,” she said.

“A culture of silence was the norm. Staff encouraged pupils not to clipe or report, and some ignored obvious abuse.”

Endemic violence

Highlighting the “endemic” violence displayed by older boys to younger pupils, she said that “cruel and terrifying behaviour” was commonplace in senior boarding houses. Among the cases she highlighted were “threatening to throw a child down a lift shaft”.

She concluded: “The current management, the commissioners, and the MoD now understand that there is no room for complacency given the abuse that has taken place since 2010 despite the child protection systems and policies that had been put in place.

“QVS apologised for the abuse experienced by children who had been entrusted into its care.”

Lady Smith has now published 13 volumes of inquiry findings, including one relating to Gordonstoun in Moray, the King’s former school.

Further case study findings in relation to other boarding schools will follow. QVS has been contacted for comment.