Man given six-figure pay out for claims of abuse at East Lothian private boarding school says he hasn't had apology
Angus claims he was assaulted thousands of times during this time at the school
A man who claims he was abused by his fellow pupils at boarding school received a six-figure pay out - but says he still hasn't received an apology from the institution.
Angus Bell, 46, attended Loretto School in Musselburgh in the 1990s aged 10 and says it was a "madhouse of violence".
He claims he was whipped with belt buckles, thrown down flights of stairs, locked in trunks and waterboarded in a dirty toilet.
He said there was a "brutal system of punishment and hierarchy" and said there were only two types of pupils at the school - the attackers and the attacked.
In 2019, Angus became a key whistleblower in the Scottish Government's inquiry into abuse at elite boarding schools.
Last year, a civil trial, thought to be the first to involve pupil-to-pupil abuse, was due to begin at the Court of Session in Edinburgh, but the school settled out of court with a six figure sum.
No pupils from the school have ever been convicted of any crimes, but Angus doesn't hold them responsible.
Instead, he blames the school's culture for letting the behaviour continue and says, decades later, he has never received an apology.
Angus, an author and carpenter, now living in Montreal, Canada, said: "The school have never contacted me directly to apologise.
"At no point in this process has anyone from that school spoken to me directly.
"There are still so many former pupils suffering, people who are in desperate need of mental health support.
"Our parents paid thousands of pounds for us to attend these schools, and in most cases the school won't offer them a penny."
Angus said his first impressions of the private school were that it was "very militaristic" and that the older pupils were in charge of the younger pupils.
He said pupils would wake up at 7am each day and classes would run six days a week.
"It was a 90-hour week," Angus said.
"Every minute of every day was regimented, and the older children were in charge.
"We had classes six days a week with sports in the afternoon. We were kept busy all the time - there was no time to think."
Angus said the minute staff turned their backs, the abuse would start.
He said pupils were "addicted" to abusing pupils and the school became "dog-eat-dog".
Angus said he witnessed pupils being hung out of windows, set on fire, and he was hospitalised after being thrown down the stairs.
Speaking to Talk to the Press, Angus said: "It was like being a prisoner by day and being in a prisoner-of-war camp by night.
"It became dog-eat-dog; you either attacked someone to survive or you were attacked.
"The violence grew as the children grew - they were addicted to it."
Angus claims he was assaulted thousands of times during this time at the school.
He said senior school practised a system of ‘fagging’ or 'scabbing', where younger kids were forced into servitude for older boys, fetching meals, cleaning rooms, warming toilet seats, and being sent out to buy food or attack girls.
"The senior years were the worst," Angus said.
"There was a game called head, bollocks, toes, where you would lie down on the floor, and they would swing hockey sticks at you.
"You had to go into survival mode when you're in that environment."
After leaving the school, at age 18, Angus said he suffered from depression and complex PTSD.
In 2019, he heard about the Scottish Government's inquiry and started writing down the abuse he had faced.
Angus said: "I thought, finally, maybe society is ready to talk about it.
"In the enquiry, I was able to account in detail all the ways I was assaulted over eight years.
"I made a list of common assaults that I saw at the school. I thought I would come up with a dozen, but within 15 minutes I had a list of 112."
Since he gave evidence at the Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry, Angus said no one from Loretto School had apologised for the abuse he suffered.
But dozens of fellow former pupils and staff had reached out to offer their support.
Angus has released a book called 'The Lost Boys: A Memoir of Survival, Silence and the System that Failed Generations' detailing the abuse he faced and the traumatic effect it had on his life.
"The scale of abuse in private schools is staggering," He said.
"It is such an important story; everyone forgets what it was like in this place.
"People on the outside have no idea what went on within those walls.
"Bullying happens in any school, but when it happens in a boarding school, there is no escape."
Pete Richardson, Head of Loretto School: "Loretto recognises the suffering caused by the historic abuse at the school and has committed to learning from the past to create a safe, supportive learning environment where student wellbeing is the highest priority.
"Today, our students receive the greatest level of care, are listened to and respected and know that they can raise concerns and will be supported by appropriate action.
"Our commitment to child protection and approach to supporting pupils today was recognised at the Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry (SCAI) and more recently, by His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Education in Scotland (HMIE) following a positive school inspection.
"It is our aim that the processes we have implemented and initiatives we have introduced today will help to nurture fulfilled, confident, kind and well-rounded individuals long into the future.
"Loretto continues to support the work of the SCAI and has made an unreserved apology for past wrongdoings - and we reiterate that apology to all survivors today. Our sympathies lie with all victims of abuse.”
A Police Scotland spokesperson said: "An investigation is ongoing into non-recent physical and sexual abuse at a school in Musselburgh, East Lothian."