Wisbech Grammar School headmaster shares honourable response to sexual abuse testimony from a former pupil

The everyonesinvited.co.uk website has issued a list of schools where posters have said sexual abuse or harassment has taken place in the past - and it includes some attended by local pupils.

Everyone's Invited released a list of schools mentioned in over 46,000 testimonies from victims of sexual assault and abuse across the UK this week following a large collection of data. The list is said to consist of 10 per cent of the nation's schools.

Downham Academy, formerly known as Downham Market High School, is one of those also on the list.

A request for a comment from the school has not been responded to.

Wisbech Grammar School, attended by many children from Lynn and West Norfolk, is also named.

Wisbech Grammar, a private school founded in the 14th Century has pupils from Downham, Lynn, Swaffham and surrounding villages.

One former pupil from Downham, who wishes to remain anonymous attended the school in the early 2000's has spoken to the Lynn News of her experience.

She said: "The culture there was horrible. It wasn't just pupils but teachers too. Scott Whitlock was my science teacher and everyone suspected he was a paedophile - we even heard rumours he was asked to leave due to his behaviour toward young girls but that clearly wasn't passed on to his next school. I saw girls being sexualised by teachers and one teacher was openly in a relationship with a sixth form pupil. Girls who exposed themselves over webcams to boys they liked were called out and slut shamed. Some even had the pictures posted all over the school. The teachers did nothing. As a female, I felt alone and bullied."

In 2016 Scott Whitlock, who is believed to have worked at Wisbech Grammar School for three years in 2004, was convicted of multiple offences.

Scott Keith Whitlock, 45, a former employee of Kimbolton School, Cambridgeshire, had an "entrenched sexual interest in children".

He admitted three offences involving hundreds of indecent images of children and publishing an obscene article.

He was sentenced to 16 months each for possessing and making indecent images, 16 months for publishing the article and four months for distributing an image, all to run concurrently.

Kimbolton school said no past or present pupils were involved in the case.

Chris Slaley, the current headmaster of Wisbech Grammar, told the Lynn News: "Like you (and all schools that I am aware of), we have been keeping an eye on the Everyone’s Invited website.

"As everyone else, I am saddened and shocked that so many testimonies that have come to light.

"It is a sad indictment on us all (society, not just schools) that in 2021 the only avenue seemingly available to girls who attended schools and had experienced sexual assault, sexualised language, misogyny or institutionalised rape culture was to take to social media.

"As a father myself of three children, two of which are teenage girls, I feel strongly connected to this issue as both a parent and a school leader.

"For the young lady who attended the school, I can offer nothing more than a sincere apology for the incident(s) that took place during her time here. As you mention it was “many years ago and society as well as staff have changed since then” but it does not excuse the fact that what happened to her, happened. With regards to the individual mentioned in your email, his time here and subsequent employment at another independent school was investigated as part of the prosecution into the offences for which he was jailed in 2016. The police and local authority safeguarding services in their investigation found no evidence from his time whilst being employed at WGS.

"With regard to what has changed and is changing- quite a lot. Everyone’s Invited has been discussed widely across the staff and pupil body, not just once but on several occasions- in forms, tutor groups, Houses, sections and assemblies.

"Our prefect body has been very vocal in wanting to know what is going to move this issue (and others) forward, so pupils continue to feel safe, supported and educated.

"(All) Staff have begun an ongoing series of mandatory training seminars, webinars around and associated with the subject. Crucially the voice of the pupil body has been completely restructured and I have also appointed a specific member of staff who has a specific remit to focus on current/ contemporary societal issues.

"Everyone’s Invited is just one of those issues and their brief, (alongside a specific pupil voice committee) is to educate and embed a more appropriate and reflective culture within WGS surrounding this topic.

"There has been complete support for this initiative from the Board, through the Senior Management Team and throughout the School.

"Since the Everyone’s Invite website has gone live, we have used the media surrounding it to highlight the issues, bring them out in the open and show our pupil body that we want to hear from them (even more so than ever). "Everyone’s Invited as well as other societal issues has been the impetus to kick-start a long term strategy to ensure such experiences never happen again and as a school we wish to be at the forefront of educating all our pupils, parents and staff about what behaviours are and not acceptable."