'Dehumanised' - Former Fettes College pupils tell of mock ‘slave’ auctions and discrimination from teachers and students in fresh racism claims

Edinburgh’s most expensive private school is facing shock new racism claims from former pupils, including the hosting of annual mock ‘slave auctions’ and discrimination from students and teachers which left them feeling “dehumanized.”

A number of staff at the £36,000 a year Fettes College, once attended by former Prime Minister Tony Blair, have been accused of enabling the “endemic” mockery of pupils’ intellect and physical appearance through a “culture of racism.”

Saffy Mirghani, who attended the school in sixth form from 2011-13, told the Edinburgh Evening News that students would organise, with the knowledge of teachers, a so-called annual ‘slave auction’ which involved prefects volunteering themselves as ‘slaves’ being bought for charity by students who could then “control them.”

She recalled how some pupils would make supposed joke comments such as, “we should get Saffy to be a slave” and that one white pupil once asked for his money back because he was unable to go as far as he wanted in terms of controlling “his prefect.”

Saffy Mirghani, who attended Fettes from 2011-2013.

The 25-year-old said: “The slave auction just allowed the most disturbing and nefarious qualities and the most troubled students to percolate to the surface.

“It was really quite frightening because it’s a topsy turvy world where the saner students realised the practices and behaviour to be strange and were quietly whispering, ‘is it not weird there is a slave auction?’ and feel they don’t have a right to openly condemn it, whereas people engaging in insane behaviour are doing it openly.

“It was frightening because we were children, and when you are a child you are so much more vulnerable.”

Femi Babbington-Ashaye was in the year below Saffy at Fettes and recalled one male pupil, in the presence of both himself and another student, saying: “I will make Femi my slave.”

Nian Li, 23, went to Fettes College (pictured at school on the right) from 2009-2015.

Femi, now 24 and living in London, said he did not report it to teachers at the time but added: “Any time someone makes a comment like that, there should be severe consequences. I was irritated but should have been more angry than I was.”

Speaking of the mock auctions, he said: “They (staff) did not take into account the minorities in the school.”

Femi said that, other than isolated incidents like this, his general experience at Fettes was good and he felt welcomed - but believes it was fortunate he performed well academically and was respected by teachers.

It is understood the so-called ‘slave’ auctions were stopped in 2013 but the exact reasons why remain unclear.

Femi Babbington-Ashaye also attended Fettes College.

Geordie Milne, a white male prefect who was in Saffy’s year group, witnessed the mock auctions and believes the only reason they were stopped was because so-called “owners” would sometimes “take it too far,” as opposed to the more obvious historical racist connotations.

Mr Milne, also 25 and now studying law, said: “Casual racism was widespread and normalised and it was certainly something that was really not called out often or addressed.”

‘They live in 1960s Britain’

Saffy told the Evening News that racist comments were regularly made between white pupils within earshot, including phrases such as “black people are the dumbest race ever” and supposed jokes like, “what do you call one black man on the moon? A problem. What do you call all black people on the moon? A problem solved.”

Fettes College in Edinburgh. Pic: Ulmus Media/Shutterstock

She also claims that, during one of her biology classes she was called a “monkey” by a white male pupil and that the teacher stayed "completely silent."

And another biology teacher allegedly once asked her in a discriminatory way, “do your parents speak English?” and told her after not doing her homework one night, “I don’t know what it’s like in the country you came from but in this country we have deadlines.”

In another instance, after performing well in a French speaking exam, she said the teacher told the class: “If Saffy can get that grade, anyone can.”

Saffy, who said she often felt “belittled” by some staff at the school, added: “The very lifeblood of the school is a culture of racism. They live in 1960s Britain and are several decades behind the rest of Britain.

“It’s endemic to students, teaching staff and pastoral staff.”

During her two years at Fettes, Saffy also recalled how a white male pupil - who had previously made racist comments towards her - refused to take a pencil from her during registration class and that he once refused to sit next to her on a bus to a school event.

Nian Li, 23, went to Fettes College (pictured at school on the right) from 2009-2015.

On another occasion she wore diamond earrings borrowed from her mother and was asked by another student if she had “stolen” them.

Saffy, who is now studying a PHD in Russian Literature at University College London, claims she was also victim to non-racial, abusive comments from white pupils such as being told to “kill yourself” and that “a homeless person deserves to be at this school more than you.”

She felt unable to tell her parents about the racist elements of her experience until 2017 and said she did not report it to teachers at the time because the behaviour was so “normalised” despite the fact it “dehumanised” her.

‘Breaking the Cycle’

Nian Li, a British Chinese student who boarded at Fettes from 2009-2015 after attending a state primary school in Edinburgh, said it was the “first time in her life” she was made to feel different by her peers.

She often found herself having to “laugh off” jokes about her being good at maths or “pretty for an Asian” and, on one occasion during art class, was mocked by pupils over the shape of her eyes in child photos she had brought in for a project – all instances which put a “chip in her self-esteem.”

Nian, who is now in her final year studying medicine in London, said: “The school did not realise they had a responsibility for students of colour at one of the most formative times to find your identity. For me, I did not have my family around me and I was in an environment that told me ‘I was the other’ and that was filtered through a lot of negative opinions on what it means to be Chinese or British Asian.”

Now 23, Nian claims the school must recognise how education about inequalities - be it over race or class - is key to “breaking a cycle” of privileged children entering wider society as adults with ignorant views which can be “immensely damaging”.

She also recalled seeing posters on school walls advertising the ‘sale’ of prefects as part of the mock slave auctions.

Another former Fettes pupil who is black, but who did not want to be named, said he was subjected to frequent racist comments masked with supposed humour, such as being asked whether he “had fresh water at home” or if he “went to school under a tree.”

He also said pupils would mimic his accent and felt people in the school initially reacted with “surprise” when he performed well on assessments, but that this disappeared over time as people realised he was academically capable.

Saffy is now compiling a list of testimonies from former Fettes pupils which she plans on sending to the school within the next few weeks.

Her decision to reveal her experiences was in part influenced by the Black Lives Matter movement, sparked by the death of black man George Floyd in Minneapolis in May, but also through finding the inner strength to finally speak about it herself.

A number of the former pupils we spoke to want to see stringent anti-racism policies at Fettes being enforced, with mandatory anti-biased training for teachers as well as sessions and workshops about race.

Inclusion a ‘core value’

A Fettes College spokesperson said: “Racism in any form by staff or students is not tolerated at Fettes and it is distressing to read these accounts from former students.

“Inclusion is a core value of the school about which we will never be complacent. The work of the student-led Fettes Equality Society, combined with that of the staff-led Equality Group, aims to ensure that diversity and inclusion across race, sexuality, gender and disability in the school is understood and enacted by all in our community. They meet regularly to discuss all school policies, to educate and to organise training for both staff and students.

“We would encourage any former student to contact the College to discuss their concerns directly and openly, so we can learn from their experiences.”

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