‘Lord of the Flies’ school head avoids ban

♦ The head teacher of a “Lord of the Flies” boarding school that closed after a sex abuse scandal has been allowed to remain in the profession.

Peter Trythall was the head of the £40,000-a-year Stanbridge Earls School in Romsey, Hampshire, which shut in 2014 after claims that at least 10 girls were sexually abused by other pupils and that a 15-year-old autistic girl was groomed and raped. Mr Trythall was found to have failed to safeguard pupils after a six-week misconduct hearing by the Teacher Regulation Agency in Coventry. However, the panel said no further action would be taken.

The mother of one schoolgirl said behaviour among children was “like something out of Lord of the Flies”.