A Message from the new headmaster of St James

Discussion of the children's schools in the UK.
St.Vedast Survivor

Postby St.Vedast Survivor » Sat Nov 27, 2004 2:58 am

Hi Scotsman, thank you for your post.

Scotsman wrote:I do not see why the present day school and its pupils should suffer for things that happened all those years ago. That should be taken up with the people who were responsible for the things described in these pages.

The problem with your argument here is that three of the ex-abusers:- Messrs Southwell, Lacey, and Hipshon are still being employed by Mrs Hyde, Mr Boddy, and the governors, at St James today! (Mr Hipshon may no longer be still be working there - somebody please correct me if I'm mistaken!)

Scotsman wrote:I would like to see the teachers named in these posts coming forward and offering to meet up with those former pupils they have abused. That is the only way, in my view, that this matter will be resolved to the benefit of everyone - both teacher and former pupil alike..

You have obviously missed the postings and apologies by Messrs Barber, Hipshon, and Rasmussen, and the accounts of meetings with them from former pupils:-Matthew, Paul, and Tom. The only pity is that the remaining nine abusers don't have the guts to step forward, follow the first three's courageous lead, and offer the same. Then perhaps this inquiry would not even be necessary.

Scotsman
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Postby Scotsman » Sat Nov 27, 2004 8:20 pm

The problem with your argument here is that three of the ex-abusers:- Messrs Southwell, Lacey, and Hipshon are still being employed by Mrs Hyde, Mr Boddy, and the governors, at St James today! (Mr Hipshon may no longer be still be working there - somebody please correct me if I'm mistaken!)


Yes, I take your point.

Mr Hipshon has posted an apology on the board. He has explained how he has changed over the years, and asked former pupils to get in touch with him with a view to meeting up. I hope that will happen, if it hasn't already, and that it may lead to forgiveness and reconciliation.

From Mr Lacey and Mr Southwell there appears to be a deafening silence. I would like to see them come forward and offer to meet up with former pupils, as other teachers and ex-teachers have done.

You have obviously missed the postings and apologies by Messrs Barber, Hipshon, and Rasmussen, and the accounts of meetings with them from former pupils:-Matthew, Paul, and Tom.


I have seen these, on another part of the board, and found them very moving. I hope there will be more meetings like this.

The only pity is that the remaining nine abusers don't have the guts to step forward, follow the first three's courageous lead, and offer the same. Then perhaps this inquiry would not even be necessary.


We agree on that, and I hope they will.

I would be interested to know what all the other present day teachers at St James think about all this. After all, it is as much their school as anybody elses, and I know many of them to be very dedicated and extremely hard working. We have heard from Katherine Watson and "Newish teacher at St James", but no other teacher apart from the ones mentioned above has posted their views as far as I know.

Scotsman

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adrasteia
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Postby adrasteia » Sun Nov 28, 2004 3:35 pm

Scotsman wrote:I would be interested to know what all the other present day teachers at St James think about all this. After all, it is as much their school as anybody elses, and I know many of them to be very dedicated and extremely hard working. We have heard from Katherine Watson and "Newish teacher at St James", but no other teacher apart from the ones mentioned above has posted their views as far as I know.
Scotsman


Do you think that all teachers would feel comfortable posting on here?
Would it not be unproffessional to start making damming comments about where you work on the internet?
Any teachers that have supported the school haven't had an easy time of it!

Scotsman
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Postby Scotsman » Mon Nov 29, 2004 12:25 am

Do you think that all teachers would feel comfortable posting on here?
Would it not be unproffessional to start making damming comments about where you work on the internet?
Any teachers that have supported the school haven't had an easy time of it!


Like many people here, including yourself and myself, they could contribute using a 'nom-de-plume', as did 'Newish Teacher at St James' on another part of the board.

Both 'Newish Teacher at St James' and Katherine Watson made some very valid points. Neither of them damned St James School. I would be very surprised if any teacher who works there were to do so. What I find extraordinary is this assumption that St James has not changed.

Everything under the sun changes from day to day. By everyone simply going about their daily activities, companies, organisations, schools, whatever you like to name, all undergo change. And people change too. When I look back over the last 20 or 30 years, I have changed a great deal in lots of ways, and so have people I know. Have you not changed at all over the past 10 or 15 years??

So why should St James not have changed like everything else??

We remember a place as it was when we were last there. Memories do not allow for change. They are frozen in time. That is why you, and others on this board, assume St James has not changed.

I had a miserable time at boarding school in Edinburgh. I described some of my experiences in my first post, under Guest (with some temerity) on the 'Experiences of St Vedast and St James' part of the board. For many years that is how I thought of the place, a place of beatings and fear of authority. Only when I went back to see the place again many years later did I realise how different it was. The changes were many, the buildings and grounds were recognisable but it was a different place. Realising that allowed me to let go of the negative feelings about my time there.

That is why I hope some of those posting on this board will go and see St James as it is today and maybe even speak to one or two of the new teachers. With the exceptions of Mr Southwell at Olympia, Dr Hipshon and Mr Lacey at Twickenham, the 'old guard' have all gone! The place has changed, and, I believe, for the better!

Scotsman

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adrasteia
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Postby adrasteia » Mon Nov 29, 2004 5:12 pm

Scotsman wrote:Both 'Newish Teacher at St James' and Katherine Watson made some very valid points. Neither of them damned St James School. I would be very surprised if any teacher who works there were to do so.


I don't think either of them could have damned the School, should they have wished so to do- would it not be unprofessional?
Giving evidence would also surely reveal anonymous posters?
Being seen to 'betray' the school online would surely be unacceptable?

Scotsman wrote:What I find extraordinary is this assumption that St James has not changed....
We remember a place as it was when we were last there. Memories do not allow for change. They are frozen in time. That is why you, and others on this board, assume St James has not changed.
Scotsman


I know what it's like now, and have always stressed that on the face of it, things has changed- the physical abuse etc.

currentparent

Postby currentparent » Fri Dec 10, 2004 11:36 am

We received today a letter written by Mr Boddy informing us of the Governors' Inquiry into discipline at St James and St Vedast Schools
1975-1985.

Daffy
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Postby Daffy » Fri Dec 10, 2004 11:57 am

currentparent wrote:We received today a letter written by Mr Boddy informing us of the Governors' Inquiry into discipline at St James and St Vedast Schools
1975-1985.


Thanks for the info, currentparent. If it's not too much trouble, would it be possible to copy the text of the letter and post it here?

Alban
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Postby Alban » Fri Dec 10, 2004 12:50 pm

currentparent wrote:We received today a letter written by Mr Boddy informing us of the Governors' Inquiry into discipline at St James and St Vedast Schools
1975-1985.


So, it would appear that the "Governors" have decided that there was no abuse worth investigating post 1985!

I wonder how they came to that descision, and what evidence they have to support their position.

This is despite representation from us that there should be no limit of the years.

Well at least the good thing about the letter is that it will draw the inquisitive parents to this site to see for themselves. Stick any number of relevant words into Google and this site is normally on the first page.

It will be interesting to see if the current parents are as insistant as the former pupils, that the enquiry is transparent. At this point in time, it would appear that it is far from being so.

Curious

Postby Curious » Fri Dec 10, 2004 3:26 pm

Does anyone know the contents of this letter sent by David Boddy?

Hopefully someone will post the text of the letter here.

mgormez
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Postby mgormez » Fri Dec 10, 2004 3:40 pm

Alban wrote:Well at least the good thing about the letter is that it will draw the inquisitive parents to this site to see for themselves. Stick any number of relevant words into Google and this site is normally on the first page.


I notice a lot of more visits from search engine robots the last 1.5 month or so. Perhaps because the war in that market is about to start between marketleader Google and runners up Yahoo/MSN/AOL or because there are links such as this one I just discovered (scroll down to 16 November)
http://electricstuffsack.blogspot.com/
Mike Gormez

Guest

Postby Guest » Fri Dec 10, 2004 4:39 pm

David Boddy says that allegations etc are unlikely to get resolved by internet postings.

Well I don't want to resolve any allegations.

This site is a perfect tool to embaress the S.E.S and get it to confront itself.

I certainly will not stop posting messages on this site after the hearing is finished.

The real issue is the future of the whole S.E.S itself not the abuse claims.

The postings on this site are the tiny tip of the iceberg when it comes to angry ex S.E.S ers.

Till now there has not been an instrument that has the power to bring it down.

Check my postings on Lambie where I expose how the S.E.S really works.

Also the organiser of this site M GOMEZ would get a hell of a lot more suscribers if the site was listed under St James and not St Vedast.

At the moment you can access this site by tapping in St Vedast, Debenham
0X

Guest

Postby Guest » Fri Dec 10, 2004 4:48 pm

Mike....get it to come up next to The School Of Economic Science
as well

0X

The Analyst
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Postby The Analyst » Fri Dec 10, 2004 5:15 pm

I certainly will not stop posting messages on this site after the hearing is finished,


-quote
I don't think anything will stop you.

sparkss

Postby sparkss » Sat Dec 11, 2004 2:44 am

The Analyst wrote:I certainly will not stop posting messages on this site after the hearing is finished,


-quote
I don't think anything will stop you.


No one should imagine the postings will evaporate after an enquiry (even if its not a whitewash). But perhaps acknowledgment and honesty from the schools will ease the pressure on them. After all, most posters here have only been asking for an acknowledgement from St James (and an apology from former teachers) of what happened. As for the SES - they can go hang!

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a different guest
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Postby a different guest » Sun Dec 12, 2004 11:46 am

should it be the SES that apologises, not just the former teachers? The teachers did not commit the abuse in a vacuum of their own making.


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