Newbattle Abbey College accused of seriously mistreating students in evictions scandal

Newbattle Abbey College is facing intense scrutiny from third sector agency Living Rent over their handling of evictions during a global pandemic.
A Living Rent protestA Living Rent protest
A Living Rent protest

Two students, both of which wish to remain anonymous, have claimed that a culture of harassment, favouritism and bullying exists within the institution.

Staff have been accused of neglecting their duty of care for students when they have either raised concerns regarding safeguarding issues or have been victims to circumstances outwith their control.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

The college describes one of their key strengths as ‘the support it offers to students’ on its website.

But one student, 'Mary', has claimed to have been made homeless by the college back in March. This was after allegedly reporting a manager for neglecting their safeguarding duties and showing favouritism to students.

The woman had to sleep for three weeks in her car before its impoundment left her sleeping on a park bench.

Mary says she was told to access temporary accommodation but she says that this was not suitable due to her past experiences of staying in such places.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

She said: “They used my vulnerability and my abusive past against me. I had to put up with being belittled, ridiculed and left feeling upset and worthless. They do not care about the students or their welfare at all.”

Another student, who asked to becalled ‘Sarah', said she has also been threatened with eviction following a mix up with her status from the Home Office.

Sarah was denied her accommodation bursary due to a failure to process one of her forms at the Home Office at the beginning of the academic year.

Shortly after the issue was rectifiedshe was given ‘settled’ status. But the school continued to deny her bursary on the grounds that she did not fit the criteria that she had earlier passed,.and claimed she was subsequently told to get a nightshift job to cover her expenses for accommodation.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

She said she was also denied access to meals as a consequence..

Sarah claimed: “Food is a basic human right. I get anaemia now and then so I can’t go without food for long periods. By pulling my meals - knowing that I have no money and due to the Covid-19 situation it is taking me ages to find a part-time job—they are not only forcing me to go hungry. They are also putting my life at risk.’’

Aspokesperson for Living Rent says “It is clear that Newbattle Abbey College has and is failing in their duty of care for students. To evict a student in normal times is abhorrent. To evict a student during Covid is disgusting. This is an institution that has prioritised its role as a landlord over its duty of care.”

Referring to ‘Mary, a Newbattle Abbey College spokesperson said: “We are currently in discussion with the Scottish Funding Council about this particular student’s entitlement to a bursary as the student has not been resident in the UK for the 3 years immediately before the start of the course. Without this bursary the student is not entitled to board and accommodation.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“In terms of the other student you mention, we worked with the Throughcare and Aftercare Team at the City of Edinburgh Council to find alternative accommodation for this student which was not taken up by the student concerned.”

A message from the Editor:Thank you for reading this article. We're more reliant on your support than ever as the shift in consumer habits brought about by coronavirus impacts our advertisers.

If you haven't already, please consider supporting our trusted, fact-checked journalism by taking out a digital subscription.

Related topics:

Comment Guidelines

National World encourages reader discussion on our stories. User feedback, insights and back-and-forth exchanges add a rich layer of context to reporting. Please review our Community Guidelines before commenting.