Balrossie school pupil gives evidence at child abuse inquiry

The Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry heard evidence from an anonymous witness, referred to in the inquiry's transcripts as ‘Nick’, who attended Balrossie between 1993 and 1995.

He told the inquiry how at the age of eight, he suffered physical and psychological abuse from one staff member at the home who, he said, “used to drag me up to the tower of the castle and lock me in” if he’d done “anything wrong at all”.

The former Balrossie school and children's home closed in the late 1990s. ‘Nick’ also described how “the whole unit went mental” when he told a member of staff how a fellow pupil had tried to sexually assault him.

He said that after he reported the abuse, staff had tried to discourage him from telling his parents.

“I telephoned my dad from the staff phone,” he added.

“They tried so hard to discourage me because of the problems it would cause.”

‘Nick’ told the inquiry of the horrific bullying at the hands of older boys at the school, who, he said, would beat him “really badly” and would stamp on his head.

In a transcript of his evidence, published at the inquiry’s website, ‘Nick’ said: “If you broke the rules you got punished, usually by being locked in your room and told to stay there.

Balrossie closed in the late 1990s and has fallen into dereliction since then. “If you were fighting with somebody else or kicking off you could end up with four or five members of staff sitting on top of you. That happened quite regularly. It happened to me about two or three times a week.

“I don't know if they recorded it when they restrained a child. It wasn't normal restraints they used, they would twist your arms up your back.

“It was quite frightening as a child and the pain was unbelievable. You couldn't breathe when you had four or five of them sitting on your back.”

‘Nick’ told the inquiry that he alerted a teacher at the school to the abuse he was suffering, but added: “She would just tell me to get out.

“When I went out, I would get beaten really badly. Boys would be stamping on my head.

“This was happening every day, or every other day. It was always when staff weren't there.

“The psychological abuse I was going through was unbelievable. It traumatised the life out of me.”

‘Nick’ also told the inquiry that one staff member would “really batter me” during the weekends or at night, when the building was quieter.

He added: “That took place in my bedroom. He would batter me for being bad, which could be anything, such as coming out of class early or swearing at a teacher.

Balrossie has fallen into total dereliction since the closure of the school in the late 1990s. “He used to throw his keys at me, he threw me off a wall, but he wouldn't hit me in the face, only on the body.

“Other staff, like the nurses, must have noticed my bruises.”

Balrossie was built as a school and home for the orphaned children of sailors in 1898 before being converted into a residential school in the 1960s.

The B-listed building has lain derelict since the school's closure in the late 1990s.

The site, which now has planning permission for 64 homes and will have an estimated value of £20m once developed, was bought by Sandy and James Easdale, owners of the McGill’s bus company, earlier this month.

Closing submissions in relation to Balrossie and a number of other residential schools are expected to be made on October 23.