A Message from the new headmaster of St James

Discussion of the children's schools in the UK.
TB

Postby TB » Thu Nov 18, 2004 11:08 pm

Hi nonanon
Interesting that as soon as her real motives and position were revealed, she chose to run and hide

Are you deliberately trying to alienate people like Katharine so the dialog with them ceases, or is it just incidental?

TB

Postby TB » Thu Nov 18, 2004 11:10 pm

Hi guest/sparkss
I used to find your posts intensly irritation - with all that unnecessary verbage and complete lack of ablility to stick to a thread. Now I just ignore them. I read and am responding to your post now because it was just 1 line.

Well done - see if you can keep it up!!

...and no I didnt agree with the whole thing.

I find myself (amazingly) agreeing in part with your post.

Daffy
Moderator
Posts: 333
Joined: Sat Oct 30, 2004 3:32 am

Postby Daffy » Thu Nov 18, 2004 11:43 pm

Nonanon, you see things in very black and white, for-us-or-against-us terms.

You are not doing the cause any service by insulting Katharine, or David Boddy for that matter. You are just deterring them and others from joining in a debate that has been extremely effective so far in bringing our cause into the open.

I'm angry too about what I went through at St James, and I have yet to be convinced about the real purpose of the inquiry, but falsely attributing all kinds of malevolent motives to people who weren't part of that period isn't going to help us.

I'm also concerned that teachers who were part of our 70s and 80s 'education' at St James like Lacey are still there, but it is simplistic to suggest that they can just be suspended or sacked immediately.

TB

Postby TB » Fri Nov 19, 2004 12:01 am

Hi Katharine,
I hope you can understand that, given the recent responses to my posts, I no longer feel there is anything useful I can contribute here.


I am sorry to see your response, however I do agree that some of the exchanges seem pretty futile. I suggest that there are probably others on this forum, for whom continued dialogue is useful. Judging the community by the views of a few (nonanon comes to mind) might be hasty. Your contributions to this board are clearly valued.

Daffy
Moderator
Posts: 333
Joined: Sat Oct 30, 2004 3:32 am

Postby Daffy » Fri Nov 19, 2004 12:02 am

Katharine, even though you are opting out of discussion on this forum I am sure you will continue to follow the debate. I believe all but a couple of participants believe you have been acting in good faith. I also assume your offer of face-to-face discussion with concerned parents is a continuing one. Thank you for your contributions to date.

If there's one thing you say that I take issue with it's your reference to people hiding behind "the cowardly shield of anonymity". While that is understandable reaction, particularly to people who insult you or your family, I don't believe everyone here who chooses to hide their identity is doing so for cowardly reasons.

I myself use a pseudonym on this forum. Regardless of the fact that we were victims, there is a certain stigma that attaches to going through what we suffered. More to the point, there is a certain stigma about admitting you are still affected by it twenty years later. Some people believe you should just move on and forget about it. I have moved on, but the truth is that the experience has scarred me. This forum is helping me heal old wounds. I want people who know me to think of me as who I am today, not as a product of what happened to me in my childhood.

Like you, I previously said I was going to opt out of further participation on this forum (for completely different reasons - see the "Does this forum help you get over the experience?" thread). I decided to come back however, and I am glad I did.

So as far as I am concerned, Katharine, you are welcome back any time even if you don't want to talk to everyone here.
Last edited by Daffy on Fri Nov 19, 2004 12:07 am, edited 1 time in total.

Guest

Postby Guest » Fri Nov 19, 2004 12:03 am

Katherine has decided to retire from the site, and the abuse taking place at st.james and st vedast - while her own daughters were pupils there - was not known to her. We were all in the same building! How could everyone have missed it? Could it be because we were all so petrified of coming back as diminuitive beings (as well as being beaten) in our next lives, if we spoke out of turn!!
By all accounts, Katherine, st.james is a different school now. Nobody with any real compassion for those of us who had either their bums or brains - or both - bashed during those dark ages could fail to understand why we are very concerned that perpetrators of such deeds are still employed at st.james!
What Katherine's husband achieved at Winchester sounds cool. Presumably he was not a st.james governor during the years of blatant abuse. But Katherine, why are you the only current teacher posting on this site. Surely other teachers (as also parents of present pupils), unfamiliar with the past, have found these postings astonishing.

Antises

Postby Antises » Fri Nov 19, 2004 2:46 am

I think the point that Katharine is trying to make about "the cowardly shield of anonymity" is that some people are taking advantage of their anonymity. By all means post anonymously, but do not expect any rash statements you make to be considered seriously if you choose to remain anonymous. Anger and revenge is not the way forward if you want a fair and meaningful inquiry.

Guest

Postby Guest » Fri Nov 19, 2004 1:40 pm

Dear Katharine,
I hope you don't allow the rantings of one fanatic like nonanon (or YouDontFoolUs or whatever he next decides to call himself) to dissuade you from continuing to contribute here. Even though I don't agree with everything you say I have still found your contributions very useful and interesting. nonanon's extreme views are definitely in the overwhelming minority here. Although he keeps referring to himself as 'we', He speaks only for himself.

Guest

Postby Guest » Fri Nov 19, 2004 2:13 pm

Not only that, his destructive views serve no-one but himself - certainly not those former pupils seeking resolution and closure, and certainly not those former teachers seeking genuine contrition and forgiveness. Let's not undignify this extremely important and delicate process any further. Clearly no ex-pupils will agree to be part of any Inquiry which is not scrupulously and utterly independent, and delivers the real TRUTH of what went on in those schools in the 70s and 80s, and why.

StJ79-93

Postby StJ79-93 » Fri Nov 19, 2004 2:38 pm

I am very pleased to hear that a man of integrity, kindness and dignity is a governor of St James. Richard Watson has been a friend of my parents for as long as I can remember and I fully support his involvement in these matters at every level.

I will reiterate (from my previous posts) that Katherine Watson is - in the opinion of people whom I trust implicitly - a great teacher. the kind of teacher who I wish I had had during my time at St James.

Please all remember that this forum may damage the stability of the school and with it the education of hundreds of innocent pupils and those innocents will need the help and support of people like Katherine. I do not and never have defended the actions of, what has become know as, "the old regime" and will not do so in the future. I will, however, defend the innocent student body of St James - past and present.

I am thankful that the school has changed and that - amongst others - Katherine Watson is present in the school everyday.

I know that 2 teachers accused of beating, humiliating and persecuting innocent children are still employed by St James Schools and would feel happier if they were suspended pending the outcome of an enquiry. In the meantime I call on all involved in this debate: please do not let this forum descend into a slanging match and let it retain the level of dignity that it deserves.

You cannot fight fire with fire.

StJ79-93

Postby StJ79-93 » Fri Nov 19, 2004 3:12 pm

Another Parent wrote:The following teachers are in contact with my child:

Knox, Peter Sawicki, Paul Moss, Bedford, Frances Lacey, LucyStory, Weigel, Jessop and Derek Saunders. They all seem dedicated, kind and honest.

Does anyone of you know them?



I know all but one of them and was taught by 5 of them - 2 of whom were my form masters.

Mr Weigal was my form master for 7 years and Mr Bedford for 3 years.

Mr W - I am told - was a perfectionist and a detrimental influence on me in that respect however I only ever received relatively light discipline from him. Rulers across the palm, smacking on the back of the legs and the occasional slipper or plimsol on the backside. I remeber him with fondness and as an artistic and sensitive man who genuinely seemed to care for the well-being of his pupils.

Mr Bedford was at first a disciplinarian and apparently devoid of emotional sensitivity and patience in dealing with children. I remember remarking to my mother that he seemed to change when his eldest son joined the senior school. He dropped a degree of his strictness and for that I begun to respect him more and I must admit I have a modicum of respect for him as I think back.

Mr Saunders and Mr Sawicki only crossed my path on the games field and I remember as nice guys.

I know Mr Moss, Mrs Story and Miss Lacey through my family and my (now-defunct) SES connections. Mr M is excellent and when he became headmaster of the junior school I rejoiced that Mr Debenham no longer had control over hundreds of young children - only hundreds of older ones - myself included.

Lucy and Frances (a classmate of my sister at St James) are probably excellent teachers and probably members of SES as are the rest of this lot you mention.

Mr Jessop: I know that there are rumours about certain episodes at the school over the years - but I cannot conform or deny them at present. I might have to get back to you when I have consulted my sources.

never heard of Knox

Hope this helps..

PS I left St James in 1993 having started in 1979

nonanon

Postby nonanon » Fri Nov 19, 2004 3:27 pm

Anonymous wrote: Clearly no ex-pupils will agree to be part of any Inquiry which is not scrupulously and utterly independent, and delivers the real TRUTH of what went on in those schools in the 70s and 80s, and why.


Huh?! We won't know whether it will deliver the truth until the end so how can we not agree to be part of it from the start on that basis?

I am saddened that some people on this forum are naive enough to be fooled by Boddy. But that's their look out. There are a growing number of us who are not fooled by him and will do all we can to highlight the past abuse and the current school's continued support and employment of some of the perpetrators.

In employing them, Boddy shows his true colours. I am sure current parents will enjoy the chance to be informed at school parent gatherings etc what sort of teachers Boddy considers fit to entrust with their children.

Guest

Postby Guest » Sun Nov 21, 2004 12:59 pm

nonanon wrote:Huh?! We won't know whether it will deliver the truth until the end so how can we not agree to be part of it from the start on that basis?.


That's simply not true nonanon. Don't underestimate the intelligence of former pupils. No one will agree to participate in any inquiry without first being in agreement and having confidence with it's terms, and the structure on which it rests.

concerned parent

Postby concerned parent » Tue Nov 23, 2004 8:48 pm

We would like to know now! Our experience of the current school suggests that it is genuinely a happy place without the outrage of the past that we read here.

That does not condone the past though and as parents we are keen to find out more.

Scotsman
Posts: 14
Joined: Tue Nov 16, 2004 5:42 pm

Postby Scotsman » Sat Nov 27, 2004 1:30 am

I have just been reading the last few pages of this board and am dismayed at the remarks made about Katherine Watson and her husband.

You will not find a man of greater integrity and honesty than my husband ANYWHERE. He is utterly unselfish, modest, kind, gentle, sensitive, generous and loving to all, honest to a fault.


In my experience of Richard Watson, that describes him very well.

I don't take kindly to your insult to me either. Anyone who has bothered to read this website properly will know that I have from the beginning unfailingly supported those who have suffered abuse. Of course I don't want to see the school I love dragged through the dirt, and I don't want our pupils to suffer from all this - it's not their fault, after all. But that does not mean I don't want the truth to be told, or that I cannot be objective. Do you really think you are the only ones capable of honesty?


I have known Katherine Watson for quite a few years, and she is a lady of honesty and integrity. What she says is genuine.

And my son tells me she is an excellent English teacher.

As a parent, I too want the truth to come out. And I want all parents to be kept fully informed. But St James has moved on. It is not the same as it was 20 years ago. It has a new Headmaster. 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.

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.

Scotsman


Return to “St James and St Vedast”

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 4 guests