Elite arts college suspends tutor over bullying claims
IT is the elite arts academy that helped set actors James McAvoy, David Tennant and Richard Madden on the road to fame.
But the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland (RCS) is at the centre of a drama of its own, with a senior academic suspended over bullying claims.
Professor Deborah RichardsonWebb, who leads the acting course at the RCS, is at the heart of an investigation into complaints from students about ‘misuse of authority’, ‘intimidation’ and ‘favouritism’, the school confirmed.
It follows an official complaint and an online petition which was signed by more than 600 pupils alleging ‘abusive and unprofessional conduct’ by staff members.
Conservatoire principal Jeffrey Sharkey yesterday confirmed that 26 recommendations for improvements have been made following a review which began in November.
He said: ‘This is a thorough and thoughtful review.
‘A full action plan to respond to the issues it raises will be developed. We will continue to nurture this valued programme and the students who undertake it.
‘This is a programme that is in itself rightly challenging, developing as it does artists and creative producers who are provocative and questioning of the status quo.
‘It is essential their development while here at RCS takes place in a safe, inclusive and positive learning environment.’
The findings of the review, which the RCS has published online, noted that the course had ‘developed a worrying level of discord, internal divisions and the impression of an excessively controlled environment’.
It also states ‘there is no doubt the head of programme has been an architect and a major factor in the development of the culture’ – and that the course is in need of urgent ‘review and repair’.
However, the review also describes the management as ‘caring’ and ‘inclusive’, and describes the courses as a ‘unique programme run with vision, invention and great social awareness’.
When speaking to investigators, some students had described how staff ‘over-reach appropriate boundaries of behaviour’ and showed favouritism to some classmates while ‘undermining the confidence of many students’.
Claims that students felt sensitive personal details, divulged during ‘check-in’ sessions with academic staff, had been shared without their consent were also probed, and an urgent review was recommended to ensure that the ‘safeguarding of students is strengthened’.
The review authors – Professor George Caird and Danielle Chavrimootoo – also said that ‘offensive stereotyping of any person or group of persons should be actively discouraged’.
They concluded: ‘The review team, while recognising the strengths and merits within the programme and the people on it, have not been unaffected by the negative experiences of the students, some of which were reported as traumatic.
‘We hope this review can be used as a spur to find a confident way forward, to repair what has gone wrong and to secure a certain future for all that is right.’
In 2017 the Royal Conservatoire was ranked third in the world as a performing arts school, placed just behind New York’s Juilliard School and the Royal College of Music in London.
Founded in 1847 as the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama, it was renamed in 2011 to reflect the fields outside music and drama which the institution now covers.
‘Misuse of authority’