Dr Guthrie's "Ragged" Schools. Edinburgh. Scotland.

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This website focuses on the dark history of Dr Guthrie's schools,

 in particular the abuse and mistreatment of children who attended these institutions.

 It reveals that these schools, often portrayed in a positive light as 'ragged schools',

 were in fact places where vulnerable children were subjected to severe neglect,

 torture and sexual abuse.

 The website describes the lack of accountability for perpetrators,

 the continuing struggle for justice by survivors and the efforts to expose

 the truth about the horrific conditions and experiences in these schools.

 It also highlights the need for recognition and support for the victims,

 who have been largely ignored by the authorities and the media.

dr thomas guthrie statue edinburgh

The  statue  in  Princes St  Gardens  is  a  sarcastic  mockery  of  the  child  abuse  survivors  who  attended

 Dr Guthrie's  schools



dr thomas guthrie statue west princes st gardens edinburgh

Before survivors of horrific child abuse at Dr Guthrie's schools started a petition on Change. Org and created this website.

 A web search for Dr Guthrie's Schools turned up page after page of glowing accounts of 'Ragged Schools'.

 However, it's important to note that for 132 years, from at least 1854,

 the institutions known as 'Dr. Guthrie's Ragged Schools' were in fact children's prisons. 

 The creators of these Dr. Guthrie 'Ragged School' websites consistently portray Dr. Guthrie's institutions

 as exceptionally beneficial, while disregarding their historical classification

 as Industrial/Reform Schools, Approved Schools, and List D Schools dating back to 1854.

 Furthermore, the issue of child abuse that occurred within these institutions is not acknowledged. 

 The plight of the children who attended these schools, including instances of abuse, cruelty and profound suffering,

 is deliberately obscured from public view. and is not mentioned on any of these 'Ragged School' websites.

This website aims to provide a truthful and authentic account of Dr Guthrie's schools.

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'' The child abuse investigation into Dr Guthrie's schools began on 28th May 2024.

The investigation into Dr Guthrie's schools ended on Friday, 21st June 2024.

Not a single Scottish or UK news outlet reported on the abuse.''


I think it's a bit unfair that children who have been abused in Scotland and who went to the wrong school aren't given the same recognition as other child abuse survivors.
It is indisputable that survivors of Dr. Guthrie's schools have suffered abuse. There is overwhelming evidence of sexual and physical abuse, as well as instances of torture, including staff puncturing a child's spine with a key. 

It is disgraceful that this abuse has not been reported in the Scottish or British media.   

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Dr Guthrie's Ragged Schools – Exclusively for sadists to abuse the Impoverished 


In 1970, these schools not only gave children no education, but much less, including very little food, dormitories that mirrored the workhouses of the 1840s, swimming lessons in a now invisible pool where children were sexually abused, super treats like having their pockets sewn up in winter, and outings where children were filmed and photographed naked.

These schools were never Christian

They were evil


dr guthries boys and girls schools edinburgh

In memory of my friend Frank Docherty, a true fighter for abused children,

 born in Glasgow on the 25th of May 1944, who passed away on the 30th of April 2017 at the age of 72  

This  website  is  dedicated

  to  the  hundreds if  not  thousands,

 of  abused  and  sexually  assaulted  children  

  who  attended

  Dr Guthrie's  schools  in  Edinburgh.


The  boys'  school  was  closed  in  1985

  and  the  girls'  school  in  1986.

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Whoever the child abusers are, it doesn't really matter. Because no one has ever been arrested, and no one ever will be.

There has been no apology from the Dr Guthrie's Association and under Scottish law survivors can't sue Dr Guthrie's schools.

It's bad enough that those who survived horrific child abuse at Dr Guthrie's schools have no choice but to seek redress from the government. It is completely unacceptable to us survivors that the Dr Guthrie's Association continues to mock us with his statue.

the statue is an insult to all survivors

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If you have been a victim of child abuse at one of Dr Guthrie's schools,

 you should not keep it a secret any longer.

 If you haven't already told the police, you should do so immediately.

You will be given a crime reference number and, if you feel you have been harmed,

 you can make a criminal injuries claim or, if you wish,

 apply for compensation through the Scottish Government's redress scheme.

No matter how serious the abuse you have suffered,

 you will not be able to sue Dr Guthrie's Association SCIO in a Scottish court.

 So don't waste your time trying to take them to court.



To apply to the Scottish Redress Scheme.
Visit the Scottish Redress Scheme website for more information.

https://www.mygov.scot/apply-for-scotlands-redress-scheme

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And there's the Scottish abuse investigation 


Find out more about the Scottish Abuse Inquiry at 


https://www.childabuseinquiry.scot/. 


Since the Scottish Abuse Inquiry began in 2015, the police have been the kindest and most accommodating authority I have dealt with.  


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Those responsible for the abuse remain unidentified and unpunished


The suffering endured by the pupils of Dr Guthrie's 'ragged schools' was of such a profound and harrowing nature that I can say with confidence that only a small proportion of the 450 Scottish child abuse witness statements that I have read come close to describing it.


 "As of early 2023, this statement was accurate.

 However, I have since come across distressing reports of abuse following the Abuse Inquiry's investigation into Approved and List D schools

 that began on Tuesday 9 January 2024."

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Edinburgh City Council


 It was asserted that the council did not directly employ the workers at Dr. Guthrie Schools.

 The council stated that it was not accountable for the manner in which the children were treated and that it was not responsible for the alleged mistreatment of the children.

Here's an article from The British Newspaper Archive, easy to find online


      The Scotsman - Thursday 20 February 1969      

When the administration of Scotland's approved schools changes into the hands of local authorities

 under the new Social Work "Scotland Act"


In December 1970,

 the same council classified the statue of Thomas Guthrie as B-list

In the same year,

 children were sexually abused and tortured in Dr Guthrie's schools

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Dr. Guthrie's Association


Following the closure of the schools,

 Dr Guthrie's Schools Association changed its name to Dr Guthrie's Association and was officially incorporated as a new charity in 1986.

The original buildings and surrounding land were sold, and the charity then used legal precedent to support its claim that it wasn't connected with the schools and therefore wasn't responsible for any illegal activity.


However, before we can obtain any records that a survivor might need about their time at a Dr Guthrie school, the Dr Guthrie's Association must give their permission.

This blatantly corrupt set-up that doesn't take survivors into account is another example of the disregard with which survivors are treated.

Under Scottish law.

 The only thing Dr Guthrie's Association is being held responsible for is our records, not the abuse.

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National Records of Scotland Catalogue Repository Code 234.

 Records of Dr Guthrie's Schools, Edinburgh.

https://catalogue.nrscotland.gov.uk/nrsonlinecatalogue/details.aspx?reference=GD425&st=1&tc=y&tl=n&tn=n&tp=n&k=&ko=a&r=GD425&ro=s&df=&dt=&di=y


Many of the schools' records are closed for 100 years:

 individual closure dates are given in the catalogue.

 Access to closed records cannot be granted except with written authority from:

 Azets, Secretaries and Treasurers,

 Dr. Guthrie's Association SCIO

 Exchange Place 3, Semple Street, Edinburgh, EH3 8BL.

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In 1970 you drove through the front gate of Dr Guthrie's Boys' School in Liberton, Edinburgh.

 There was a sign saying 'Dr Guthrie's School for Boys'.

 I thought that the symbol on the sign resembled the emblem of the Free Church of Scotland.

The sign, with a burning bush on a sky blue background, read Dr Guthrie's Boys' School.

 The background logo of the Free Church of Scotland is sky blue, while the background logo of the Church of Scotland is dark blue. 

 Although I'm not sure if the Free Church of Scotland had anything to do with Dr Guthrie's schools

 - as it would be easier to find a needle in a haystack than information about Dr Guthrie's schools -

 Thomas Guthrie was a founding member and moderator of the Free Church of Scotland.


Dr Guthrie's schools have been investigated for child abuse.

 The schools have been listed as a non-religious voluntary organisation. 

During my time at Dr Guthrie's Boys' School, it was exclusively for Protestant boys,

 and attendance at church every Sunday was mandatory.

 Job advertisements in the 1960s newspapers often specified that only Protestant applicants would be considered for school jobs.

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  So many people have been denied a decent future by these Dr Guthrie's schools.

 Children who were abused within the walls of the institutions have cried so much that the buildings are saturated with horror.

 They were simply children's prisons and torture centres masquerading as schools.

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There  is  a  100  year  D  notice

  on  Dr  Guthrie's  schools.

  No  matter  where  I  look  on  the  internet,

  I  can't  find  many  photographs. 

  There  was  a  swimming  pool  at  the  Boys'  School  which  was  also  used  by  the  local  schools. 

  I  can't  find  any  photographs

  of  the  swimming  pool.  

dr guthries boys school swimming pool edinburgh
dr thomas guthrie statue protest princes street edinburgh

NON OBLITUS 

dr guthries boys school edinburgh


The  boys' school  in  Liberton  was  an  institution  where  vulnerable  children

  were  subjected  to  torture  and  sexual  abuse. 

  The  truth  about  these  atrocities  will  be  exposed. 

Horror  has  always  been  in  this  building.   


In 1970, I was sent to Dr Guthrie's Boys' School. I was eleven years old. I was sentenced to three years care and protection. I was falsely accused of stealing three empty ginger bottles.

 My father struggled with alcoholism and mental illness.

 He suffered from PTSD and was on a war pension.

 He ended up as a patient at Erskine Military Hospital. 


Instead of receiving care and protection I was tortured and abused for 29 months and given virtually no education.


I first complained about the abuse in 1988. My complaints were then dismissed and I was told I needed witnesses. I have made no progress since my first complaint in 1988.

 I contacted the Child Abuse Inquiry in December 2015.

 No one has been arrested. I haven't received an apology and the Abuse Inquiry

 has still not investigated Dr Guthrie's schools at the time of writing (28.10.23).

                                  

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In Scotland, the average life expectancy for people who were in care as children is only 63.

 These statistics would suggest that more than half of the children

 who attended Dr Guthrie's schools before 1972 have died.

Dr Guthrie Association is very fortunate to have benefited from Scotland's delayed investigation into child abuse - there are countless victims out there who are no longer alive to voice their complaints.  

 How many victims of abuse have died over the years

 without ever receiving even the most minimal form of recognition or justice?  

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Anyone who attended a Dr Guthrie's Boys' or Girls' School is welcome to post a comment on this website,

 as are family members.


  To contact me, please click on one of the options below


                                  Survivors  have  our  own  Facebook  group                 controlled  and  operated  by  us 

   https://www.facebook.com/groups/1581096342197510/

 

        Please  sign  the  petition  below

    Do  not  let  them  get  away

     with  horrible  child  abuse 

    https://www.change.org/p/remove-the-thomas-guthrie-st


      You  can  find  me  at  

        https://x.com/  search for GuthriesSu24583

 

     The  best  lawyer  in  Scotland 


 https://www.digbybrown.co.uk/offices-and-contacts/edinburgh-office

dr guthries list d school liberton edinburgh
dr guthries boys approved school dormitory liberton edinburgh

I submitted a complaint to the Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry over eight years ago regarding some truly horrific child abuse. I was hopeful that it would lead to some form of justice and closure.

 It is unfortunate that almost nine years later, there has been no apology extended to me or to any survivors of Dr Guthrie's schools.

What is particularly disgusting is the way in which Dr Guthrie's Association is still being portrayed online and in the Scottish media as a Christian "ragged school" charity.

These people have refused to apologise to survivors of Dr Guthrie's schools

and have denied any responsibility for the abuse that took place there.


Even if Dr Guthrie's schools were approved or List D, we were abused there as children.

Those who survived Dr. Guthrie's schools

 endured some of the most distressing forms of child abuse and torture.

We believe that we, too, deserve the same level of justice as other abused children.


We hope our voices will be heard.


We expect justice and closure like any abused child would want. 

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Check out our Dr Guthrie Statue video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yFFmhEmEVb8


Please watch our Dr Guthrie's invisible swimming pool, statue protest video 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zFaLYxdL2C0

 


Our Dr Guthrie's Girls' School statue protest video 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X1dvi0Rtqaw

dr guthrie statue princes street edinburgh

They can cover up as much as they want.

  It won't stop us from speaking out. 

dr guthries edinburgh abuse cover up
dr guthries schools edinburgh abuse cover up