Public school is rocked by sex claims storm as THREE governors quit over handling of allegation by former pupil
- Governors left after school failed to sack teacher charged with indecent assault
- Repton School teacher Simon Clague, 55, admitted charges after pupil’s claim
- He had intimate relationships with three teenagers, Derby Crown Court heard
- Derbyshire school said it was ‘profoundly sorry’ for failing to protect his victims
Three governors at a top public school have resigned over its handling of a sexual misconduct allegation, the Daily Mail can reveal.
Parliamentary standards commissioner Kathryn Stone, a former police chief and a top criminal law barrister, quit after Repton School declined to sack a teacher despite the claim made by a former pupil.
The Derbyshire school, where boarders pay more than £40,000 a year and which counts Roald Dahl and Jeremy Clarkson among its alumni, said its handling of the matter has been backed up by two expert independent reviews.
But a letter written by Sue Fish, former chief constable of Nottinghamshire, to the chairman of governors, Mark Shires, said she had no option but to resign due to the teacher’s continued employment.
The document, seen by the Mail, said the decision means the school’s ‘safeguarding of pupils past, present and future is now in jeopardy and lacks credibility’.
Repton has strongly denied this in a row which comes after a separate case in which a former teacher was jailed for seven years and 11 months in March for abusing pupils at the school in the 1990s.
Three governors have resigned after Repton School (pictured) declined to sack a teacher who has admitted charges of indecent assault
Simon Clague, 55, admitted charges of indecent assault. He had intimate relationships with three teenage girls, Derby Crown Court heard.
Repton said it was ‘profoundly sorry’ for failing to protect his victims, adding any former pupils looking to contact the institution ‘will be taken extremely seriously’.
This prompted one to allege a teacher still there had engaged in sexual activity with two friends at about the same time.
It is understood the former pupil did not name these friends, was not willing to speak formally to the police and the school received no further evidence.
Mrs Fish claims the teacher’s files revealed ‘an appalling catalogue’ of alleged past misconduct. It is understood Repton felt the allegations to which she referred were unsubstantiated rumours that had been fully investigated.
The school is also thought to have considered any risk to pupils and legal advice suggesting dismissal would be unlawful.
The third governor who resigned was Tim Hannam QC. He and Mrs Stone did not respond to requests for comment and Mrs Fish declined to comment further.
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