The principal of a top private school has apologized “sincerely and unreservedly” for all the hurt caused to students by allegations of racism and harmful sexual conduct.
dr Gary Savage said Westminster School regrets publishing two independent reviews.
A total of almost 70 recommendations were made.
The reviews were commissioned following the national campaigns Everyone’s Invited and Black Lives Matter.
The central London school was one of many to appear on the Everyone’s Invited website, where students – both current and former – posted testimonies about sexual abuse and harassment they had experienced during their school days, mainly perpetrated by other students.
- Website exposes ‘rape culture’ in schools
- Sexual abuse allegations ‘not limited to private schools’
The School’s Review of Harmful Sexual Behaviors, conducted by Fiona Scolding QC, states that 44 Westminster-related posts on this site were considered.
These behaviors include sexual harassment — consisting primarily of verbal or online comments, sharing of sexual images without consent, abusive relationships, sexual and sexist bulling, sexual assault, rape, and the misunderstanding — or ignorance — of consent.
Testimonies describing sexist and misogynistic attitudes were also examined.
It found that 25% of students surveyed said they had experienced sexual discrimination, unwanted image sharing, or physically/verbally harmful sexual behavior.
65% of the girls interviewed had experienced at least one case.
Some students said they felt male students were “taking contrary positions to provoke reactions” and asserting status rather than encouraging debate.
“Students surveyed had a strong sense of a social hierarchy within the school, in which the status of some male students was determined by family wealth, academic success, and charisma,” she added.
Schoolchildren were said to have received unsolicited sexual imagery, as well as sexist, homophobic and racist bullying on social media, which was also used to quickly spread gossip.
Students also said the impact of pornography use was “largely underestimated” by staff and parents.
Among the 44 recommendations, the school was advised to revise its relationship and sex education curriculum and place more emphasis on how to build healthy relationships.
There should also be discussions and lessons on gender stereotypes, tropes and equality.
Students should also be trained to be an “active spectator”, while caretakers, tutors and matrons should be trained in how to deal with pastoral matters beyond the formal curriculum, particularly in mental health support.
A code of conduct for students should be introduced – with input from them.
Meanwhile, the Race Review noted: “Significant events, like the spotlight on Black Lives Matter, led to heightened awareness of racism, but continued denial of racism and the invisibility of the issue as part of the school environment created a dichotomy between those.” for whom this was very important and those who felt they had ‘created awareness’ – so there is no need to ‘talk about it any further’.
International students, British Asian, British Black, Chinese and Jewish students “reported a lack of sensitivity and delays in responding to emotions they experienced when shouting out unacceptable behavior.”
The small number of black students in the school meant it was “emotionally draining” for these students to do anything to garner extra attention, such as by denouncing racist behavior. They also felt an obligation to shoulder the burden of educating other students about racism.
It added that staff felt uncertain about how to effectively deal with incidents of racial harassment.
The report’s authors, led by Challenge Consultancy’s Femi Otitoju, made 25 recommendations, including expanding the range of counseling services available to victims, publicizing their policy on racial harassment and hiring a “more diverse teaching staff”.
Housekeeping staff and catering assistants “must be treated with dignity and respect when introducing staff and students,” she added.
In response, Dr. savages Both reviews “recognize that the issues described are not unique to Westminster, but also make very clear that aspects of Westminster’s culture and structure have historically contributed to unacceptable words and actions that have harmed some members of our community. For that.” I would like to reiterate our sincere and unreserved apologies.
“We certainly recognize that learning opportunities have been missed in the past and welcome the advice in these reviews on how to reflect on them and continue to improve.”
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