Magdalen College School named in Everyone’s Invited testimonies

Magdalen College School (MCS), founded in 1480, has been named in online sexual abuse survivor testimonies.

The testimonies are among more than 15,000 on the Everyone’s Invited website, a movement exposing rape culture.

MCS, which has fees of more than £19,000 per annum for senior school and sixth form students, has been named in disturbing testimonies.

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One read: “There is a tradition where every year the upper sixth and lower sixth go out together for a curry but in reality everyone gets extremely drunk and upper sixth boys make it their mission to assault drunk lower sixth girls.”

The testimony adds that the victim was inappropriately touched while the perpetrator’s friends later teased her about it.

The testimony continued: “This type of thing and worse happens to multiple girls every single year, and every year pupils and parents raise concerns but the school keeps turning a blind eye.

“Upper sixth boys also seem to think it’s funny to continue harassing and making lewd comments about the same lower sixth girls throughout the year, it’s just a part of the culture which no one does anything about.”

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Another testimony even alleges that following a rape, the attacker failed to face action from the school.

That testimony read: “I was raped by someone at the same school.

“There were no support systems in place and the perpetrator never faced any consequences.

“The older boys often preyed on and sexually abused the younger girls.

“Everyone was aware of the culture, including teachers, but no one ever said anything.”

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Helen Pike, master at MCS, said the testimonies are a ‘troubling and upsetting read’.

She added: “We are a community that puts great emphasis on respect for others, and we educate all our pupils to make good decisions and do the right thing.

“We also know that sometimes pupils can get it wrong, particularly when they are in groups, and it is our role to work alongside their parents in helping them to recognise the consequences of their actions and learn from them.

“As a head, I am hearing a profound desire among boys to get it right, and we have a real opportunity as educators to guide them.

Magdalen College School master Helen Pike. Picture: MCS

“Lessons about sexual harassment and consent form part of our PSHE programme, with conversations about boundaries and permission seeking in relationships starting right from our junior school.

“The curriculum is supplemented by presentations from external providers, giving pupils a platform to discuss these issues in small groups.

“Everyone’s Invited has been powerful in raising awareness, and I have been vocal about how we can all engage in the conversation.

“There is a real opportunity here to address some issues which are deep-rooted and society wide.”