Ex-gordonstoun pupil say school must help survivors of abuse

Gordonstoun should set up a trust to help those who suffered abuse access mental health treatment, a former pupil who was drugged and sexually assaulted by a teacher at its preparatory school has said.

John Findlay says the elite boarding school needs to take responsibility for abuse he and others suffered at Aberlour House, a nearby school which acts as the junior school of Gordonstoun in Moray.

Mr Findlay, who has waived his right to anonymity, said he was assaulted in a dormitory at Aberlour when he was 12, with the teacher responsible later being dismissed.

However, Mr Findlay later discovered the teacher went on to find work in other schools in England and abroad.

Mr Findlay, 43, gave evidence at the Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry yesterday.

He spoke after his evidence session, saying he believed Gordonstoun should accept responsibility for the abuse he suffered at Aberlour.

He said: "Irrelevant of the legal obligation, they most definitely have a moral obligation. Considering this is Gordonstoun, that teaches 'you have to be the right person and do the right thing'.

"If they're going to sit there and shirk their own morals, well they're going to run up against people like me."

He said Gordonstoun had stated Aberlour House was a separate legal entity when discussing who was responsible for historic abuse there. The schools are now merged.

Mr Findlay said: "Gordonstoun needs to accept fully what has happened and provide support fully."

He said the abuse he suffered aged 12 continued to have a major impact on him.

The teacher responsible for the alleged abuse, Derek Jones, is now dead.

Mr Findlay said he bore no animosity towards anyone currently teaching at Gordonstoun, but called on leaders there to make sure survivors of past abuse receive help.

The inquiry also heard from a former pupil at Gordonstoun who said a teacher who would go on to be convicted of sexual offences groped him at the school in the late 80s and early 90s. The witness was referred to only as Paul to protect his anonymity.

Paul said physics teacher Andrew Keir abused him when he was a teenager. In 2018, Keir was convicted of lewd acts against three pupils and sentenced to a year in jail.