By Gordon Berry

THE MOTHER of a former pupil at Madras College in St Andrews has launched a blistering attack on indiscipline she claims has led to her son suffering from self harm and severe depression.

The woman, who comes from north Fife but does not want to be identified, has spoken out in the wake of a critical HMI report which has highlighted problems of accommodation, management and difficulties in supervision at the split site school.

Yesterday she said that the report, already described as “shocking” by one local MSP, had come as no surprise to herself or other parents who had removed children from Madras in recent years.

She said that she was only surprised by the “understatement” of the problems, particularly in relation to indiscipline at the Kilrymont site, where she claimed that bullying, fighting, harassment and vandalism are endemic and are the inevitable consequence of a catastrophic collapse of leadership and morale within the school.

The mother said that last September her “bright, erstwhile happy” son had taken a knife to himself following persistent psychological abuse, physical attacks and intimidation by children in his own year and the year above.

Since then, she said, he had been diagnosed as suffering from severe depression and anxiety, had received psychiatric treatment and had not been able to return to Madras.

The mother went on to claim that attempts to work with the staff had revealed shocking inadequacies in attitude and resources, and added that the school had not been providing supervision in the playground or toilet areas for children aged 12 to 15.

“This is a breeding ground for unchecked bullying, but when we drew it to the attention of staff the response we received was two-fold— that the school had no intention of changing the situation, and staff could only respond to bullying if it was drawn to their attention by the child.

“There was no understanding that the school could minimise the opportunities for violence by addressing its supervisory arrangements.”

She said that even more appalling was a failure to take any responsibility, placing this entirely on the vulnerable children it has a duty to protect.

“We all know that these children are frightened to death and have great difficulty in telling teachers what is happening to them.

“We cannot expect staff to know everything that is happening, but we can expect a school to have systems in place to supervise children adequately during the school day.

“The school is, after all, ‘in loco parentis’ during the school day.”

She said that no one had been ultimately in charge at Kilrymont, and that while each year head is responsible for their own year, there appeared to be little communication or effective interaction between them.

“The result is a failure of leadership and effective discipline at the school.”

Other issues highlighted by the mother related to alleged lack of training on new legislation designed to assist and protect children with ‘additional and complex needs’; the quality of home tutoring that was eventually provided; the reluctance of the school to acknowledge the extent and severity of bullying within the school, and the staff ignorance of what does take place.

“By January 2006 we realised that the school was unwilling to address its structural and attitudinal problems, and that until it did it was unlikely to be able to protect our son from further bullying if he ever returned.

“Although it has taken four months to achieve because of the severity of his illness, our son is now successfully reintegrated into a new school, working hard and making friends. There is no evidence that he has any problems with ‘social interaction’ in this school.”

The woman said this step had led to the family re-mortgaging their home, although they felt “lucky to be able to do so”.

“Talking to friends, work colleagues and acquaintances has revealed that we are not alone in removing our child from Madras. Madras College continues to believe its own hype. Even now the rector is able to characterise the HMI report as ‘positive’.

“Many parents know to their children’s cost that this is not the case, and that the school has failed to take sufficient responsibility for their welfare or appropriate action to protect and nurture their potential.”

Mid Scotland and Fife MSP Ted Brocklebank, who lives in St Andrews and is a former Madras pupil, said he had also been contacted by the mother, and as a result had written to the rector.

He said the recent report highlighted serious failures in management and a breakdown in communication among senior staff, and it was time that the school “grasped the nettle”.

Mr Brocklebank added that he had received other complaints about bullying at the school.