The IICSA Report into Residential Schools – material on specialist music schools and some initial thoughts – Part 1
Posted: March 1, 2022 Filed under: Abuse, Chetham's, Culture, Dance, History, Music - General, Musical Education, Public Schools, Specialist Music Schools, Yehudi Menuhin School | Tags: abuse, alistair tighe, anne rhind, boarding schools, central school moscow, channel 4 news, chetham's school of music, childline, chris ling, clare moreland, david thomas, Duncan McTier, Frances Andrade, frances shorney, Graham Smallbone, grooming, guildhall school of music and drama, Helen Bennett, IICSA, john vallins, julien bertrand, Malcolm Layfield, marcel gazelle, michael brewer, music and dance scheme, nicholas chisholm, nicholas smith, operation kiso, peter crook, peter hullah, Philip Pickett, purcell school, richard hillier, rosemary rapaport, Royal Northern College of Music, rzysard bakst, Specialist Music Schools, st mary's school, wells cathedral school, Wen Zhou Li, yehudi menuhin school 3 CommentsToday, the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse have published their long-awaited report into residential schools, including specialist music schools, following their hearings in Autumn 2019. As a participant in the inquiry who gave verbal evidence and also a wide range of written data, submitted via lawyers Slater and Gordon, I wanted to draw attention to the sections relating to specialist music schools (as the report is 223 pages long), and offer some comments. I earlier published a post with a wide range of links to the testimonies and videos from the inquiry, and also an extensive range of testimonies collected at the time from former pupils at my former school, Chetham’s School of Music. Other relevant posts are indexed on my home page – perhaps most relevant are my digest of reported cases of abuse from 1990 to 2012, and detailed account of the trial of Michael Brewer and the aftermath.
Chetham’s School of Music, cloister buildings.
The report details widespread abuse throughout the four English specialist music schools (SMSs), including various cases for which circumstances including the fact that the alleged perpetrator is deceased precluded criminal proceedings. I am very glad that they have drawn attention to the allegations against Rzysard Bakst at Chetham’s and Marcel Gazelle at the Yehudi Menuhin School (for which I and several others worked with Channel 4 News to bring the story to light) in particular. But key to this type of report is not just which perpetrators carried out which incidents, but also how they were able to do so within the institutions in question, how those institutions responded when such allegations came to light, and which measures either were or have been put in place to safeguard pupils. It is clear that there were extremely serious deficiencies on the part of the schools, which enabled these incidents to happen. I link these to a much wider toxic culture (as attested to in the Chetham’s testimonies linked above) of reckless abuse of power, premature sexualisation, bullying, harassment, physical and emotional as well as sexual abuse, and in general, a privileging of the reputation of the institutions over the welfare of the pupils, as is made clear in the report. Furthermore, as also identified in the report, there are specific factors relating to specialist music schools which make pupils especially potentially vulnerable: the power and charisma of teachers, the intensely competitive environment in which the chances of ultimate success are low, the intimacy of the 1-1 teaching relationship, and more. From when these schools were founded (Purcell and Menuhin in the early 1960s; Chetham’s, Wells, and St Mary’s, Edinburgh, all became wholly or partially SMSs at the end of the 1960s and beginning of the 1970s), the dangers in terms of child welfare should have been obvious, but my research has uncovered little evidence of any particular concern about this on the part of those invested with power and responsibility at the schools. All sought inspiration from schools and pedagogy in Eastern Europe: the Central School in Moscow was the direct model for the Menuhin School, and by implication also St Mary’s (which was itself modelled on the Menuhin School), the Purcell School; Rosemary Rapaport, co-founder of the Central Tutorial School, later Purcell School, was inspired by what she saw in Czechoslovakia, and also wrote about the contrast between what students achieved in the UK and in Russia; the plans for Chetham’s were explicitly compared to schools in Russia and Hungary, and both John Vallins and Michael Brewer visited Hungary and the Soviet Union to seek information on approaches to tuition; pedagogy at Wells was deeply influenced by the violinist Yfrah Neaman, Lebanese-born but Moscow-trained. Furthermore, many teachers at the schools came from Eastern European ‘schools’ of playing and pedagogy, and made much of the mystique associated with these in the West. Specialist music education was in large measure an Eastern European development (there are a few precedents in Weimar-era Germany and even in the Third Reich, but these were not long-lasting) – many such schools sprung up throughout Eastern Europe after 1945, inspired especially by the model of the Moscow Central School, founded in 1932. Approaches to teaching which were developed in highly authoritarian and undemocratic societies were being transplanted into a Western liberal democracy; a theme of my forthcoming history will be the stark incompatibility of these with the wider values, including child welfare and nurturing, which should have been expected in the UK. To this day debates continue to rage as to what is reasonable in terms of expectations on young people studying music and dance at a high level, with examples from Russia and China cited in opposition to a more liberal and child-centered approaches.
Through the course of events, the actions of particular head teachers and music directors has been especially deficient, even when not directly involved with abuse – the report makes reference to John Vallins, Peter Hullah and Clare Moreland at Chetham’s, and Peter Crook at Purcell. The testimonies of these individuals and some others at the hearings were not impressive, and communicated to many alumni with whom I am in contact a sense of complacency, marginalisation, and even denial. Alas it is probably unsurprising to many to see confirmation that institutions have sought to protect their own reputations and those of their most senior staff, in the face of allegations of abuse, bullying, harassment, and so on, and those going forward to register such things can find themselves shunned, marginalised or victimised. This is why mandatory measures and reporting are needed, and proper protection offered for those who come forward. There is still a long way to go in this respect, and I will say more about this when writing about the report’s conclusions in a subsequent post. Many dangers are present in tertiary as well as primary/secondary music education: some will be aware of the case of Philip Pickett, jailed in 2015 for eleven-and-a-half years for offences including rape of female students in locked sound-proofed practice rooms. Also shocking was the reaction of the then-principal of the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, the late John Hosier, simply telling the parents of one girl who was attacked to take her to study somewhere else (see also my articles following the Pickett case here and here). I am aware of detailed testimony relating to another former conservatoire principal of a similar nature, from two individuals unbeknown to each other when they spoke to me, and relating to two different teachers who had committed grievous sexual offences. When considering going to the police about these cases, they were threatened with expulsion and career ruin by the principal in question. The possibilities for such corruption of power, in a world in which reputations are everything, and careers are greatly fragile and dependent upon good favour within narrow circles, must be addressed as a matter of urgency.
Here are the key passages from the IICSA report:
In 2013, Michael Brewer, the former director of music at Chetham’s School of Music, Manchester, was convicted of sexually abusing a former student when she was 14. His victim took her own life after giving evidence at his trial. This prompted other former pupils to come forward, with 47 alleged perpetrators reported to the police, 35 of whom were connected with the school. Four were charged with criminal offences, including Christopher Ling who had abused eight young girls, often in the guise of ‘rewards and punishments’ at his home during tutorials, during music courses in school holidays and at the school itself. This first came to light in 1990, shortly after Ling moved to the USA, taking a group of girls with him as pupils. Extradition was not pursued and no further action was taken at the time by the school or by others. It was, as one victim put it, “as if it hadn’t happened”. (p. 2)
At the Purcell School, a specialist music school, allegations against staff were not responded to appropriately under the headship of Mr Peter Crook. This is unsurprising, as the headteacher demonstrated a failure to understand some basic principles of safeguarding. For example, in 2009 Mr Crook took a group of Year 9 boys to his home, discussed his own sexual experiences with them, told the boys how to measure their penises and told them he would ignore it if he caught two boys masturbating each other. When this came to light, it was decided that no disciplinary measures were to be imposed on the headteacher.
Teachers and others exploited their positions of trust to abuse children in all the various types of educational settings the Inquiry considered. Some settings pose heightened risks. Boarding schools were described to us as “the ideal environment for grooming”, as the children have an increased dependency on those around them. (pp. 2-3)
In the specialist music schools examined, the power and influence of often revered and influential music teachers made some pupils even more vulnerable to being sexually abused by them. The reputations of both the musicians and the schools were often seen as more important than their victims and potential victims when allegations were made or concerns were raised. The response was similar when concerns were raised about well-liked and generally respected members of staff in other school contexts, in both the independent and state sectors. (p. 3)
There are details of the testimony of RS-A2 and RS-A3 on pp. 7-8, both relating to horrific abuse at the hands of Chris Ling. I will not give all the details, but quote here aspects relevant to the environment and response of the school. Very notable is the behaviour of houseparents (in a position of loco parentis in such schools), for which the evidence is damning.
RS-A2 was a boarder at Chetham’s School of Music (Chetham’s) in Manchester in the 1980s, from the ages of 13 to 18. She was far from home and found the atmosphere in the school to be “oppressive” and very competitive. She felt that there were no staff members who were approachable.
Christopher Ling became RS-A2’s violin tutor at Chetham’s when she was 15. RS-A2 said that she saw Ling as a father figure, and that he had convinced his students that he was their only chance of success. RS-A2 noticed that Ling frequently commented on the appearance of his female pupils, and he sometimes gave RS-A2 a shoulder massage for pain she developed from over-practising.
[…..]
When Ling’s abuse of pupils at Chetham’s came to light in December 1990, RS-A2 was interviewed by Greater Manchester Police in the presence of the housemistress, Mrs Anne Rhind. Although the female police officer who interviewed her was “kind”, RS-A2 had the impression that Mrs Rhind was worried about the impact on the school and that she was angry with RS-A2.
After RS-A2 disclosed the abuse at school, she spoke to her mother about it on the telephone. RS-A2 said that she later discovered that her mother tried to contact her at Chetham’s, but Mrs Rhind would not let her speak to or see RS-A2, saying that she was busy. RS-A2 said that she had not known at the time that her mother had tried to see her because Mrs Rhind did not tell RS-A2 that her mother had come to the school.
Some time after she was interviewed, RS-A2 recalled being told by the police that the case would not proceed due to a lack of evidence. Neither the police nor the school offered any counselling or support.
RS-A2 was allocated a new violin teacher at Chetham’s who also made sexual allusions in lessons and forcefully kissed her, but RS-A2 did not report it. She did not think she would be listened to: “if the other abuse hadn’t been listened to, then why would this?”
RS-A2 provided another statement to the police in 2013, when the case against Ling was reopened. Ling shot himself in the head when US marshals arrived at his home to serve extradition papers upon him in September 2015. When she heard of Ling’s suicide, RS-A2 felt that again the voices of his victims had not been heard. She felt shocked and angry, and described his suicide as “a final kick in the teeth”.
The sexual abuse has continued to affect RS-A2 emotionally and physically, causing problems with trust and self-esteem, and has affected her relationships with men. RS-A2 has not played classical music since leaving Chetham’s and finds it difficult to listen to it. (pp. 6-7)
Also:
[…..]
RS-A3 joined Chetham’s when she was 15 years old, living at the school as a boarder. Ling was her instrumental teacher and RS-A3 said that she looked up to him as an inspiring teacher. He continued to sexually abuse her, not on school premises but at his private residence, during additional lessons or tuition courses at weekends and in the school holidays.
[…..]
In autumn 1990, during a self-awareness course, RS-A3 disclosed that she had been sexually abused by Ling. Her parents were informed and reported him to the police. By this time, Ling was teaching in the United States and RS-A3 was in the sixth form at Chetham’s. Greater Manchester Police interviewed RS-A3 and several other girls at the school, although RS-A3 recalled being told by the police subsequently that there was not enough evidence to extradite Ling to face trial in England.
In 2013, the police reopened the case against Ling. RS-A3 was interviewed again by the police because the evidence gathered in 1990 had been lost. Extradition proceedings were initiated to bring Ling back from the United States to face trial in England, but Ling killed himself before he could be extradited.
When RS-A3 heard of his suicide, she felt a sense of relief but also was disappointed that Ling had never faced justice for his actions:
“I wanted it confirmed that we were telling the truth and I have missed out on the recognition of what we had gone through. I am especially angry that the school will never be held accountable”.
The abuse continues to affect RS-A3. She struggles to show her feelings and feels numb and disconnected. She gave up playing the violin as it triggered uncomfortable emotions. (pp. 7-8)
The following passage relates to the nature of specialist music provision in the UK, about which I am working on a history at present.
B.2: Music schools
2. Through the Music and Dance Scheme (MDS), the Department for Education provides income-assessed grants or bursaries to pay all or part of the fees for children at specialist music or dance schools in England. The schools themselves decide whom to offer places and may withdraw a place according to their own policies.
3. There are four specialist music schools in the MDS in England:
• Chetham’s School of Music in Manchester (Chetham’s);
• The Yehudi Menuhin School in Surrey;
• The Purcell School for Young Musicians in Hertfordshire (the Purcell School); and
• Wells Cathedral School in Somerset.
These four specialist music schools are independent boarding schools, although day pupils also attend. In all four schools, there have been allegations of sexual abuse of students by teachers or other adults working at the school.
4. A watershed moment came in 2013, when Mrs Frances Andrade took her own life shortly after giving evidence at the trial of Michael Brewer. The former director of music at Chetham’s was convicted of sexual offences against her when she was a pupil and boarder at the school (when named Miss Frances Shorney, as she is referred to below). Mrs Andrade’s death and Brewer’s conviction were widely reported in the press, prompting many former pupils of Chetham’s and the other specialist music schools to come forward and speak about their experiences of child sexual abuse within music education from the 1960s to the present day. Many spoke to the police through Operation Kiso, a large-scale investigation by Greater Manchester Police. Many more contacted Dr Ian Pace, a musicologist and former pupil of Chetham’s, who had written a number of articles on his blog, Desiring Progress, regarding the trial of Brewer and the incidence of child sexual abuse in specialist music education.
Chetham’s School of Music
5. Chetham’s is situated in the centre of Manchester, close to Manchester Cathedral. The Cathedral choristers are educated at the school.79 It became a co-educational specialist music school in 1969, having been a boys’ grammar school since 1656. Chetham’s is the largest of the four specialist music schools, currently providing full-time academic education, in addition to specialist music tuition, for just over 300 pupils aged between 8 and 18. More than one-third of its student body is in the sixth form (aged 16 to 18). At the time of the Inquiry’s hearing in October 2019, the school had 220 boarders and around 10 percent of its students were from overseas.
6. Incidents of child sexual abuse which occurred at Chetham’s between the 1970s and the 1990s led to five adults who worked with children there facing criminal charges. Some allegations of child sexual abuse at Chetham’s were reported after the alleged perpetrators had died, resulting in no further action being taken by police.’ (pp. 24-25)
The report looks specifically at the cases of Michael Brewer and Chris Ling, as well as the nature of Operation Kiso, set up soon after the Brewer trial. The case of Michael Brewer has been the most prominently reported because of the trial of him and his former wife, and the tragic suicide of their victim Frances Andrade, née Shorney, during the course of the trial. Especially notable here are the details of how Brewer’s departure from the school were handled, in such a manner as enabled him to continue working with young people. On the grapevine, at the time of his departure, I heard rumours about some scam involving a violin manufacturer and him, but this would have been far less serious. It cannot be underestimated how fundamental a role Brewer played in the lives of all who attended the school when he was Director of Music (some early reports described him simply as a choirmaster, which downplayed his power – see my earlier blog post here on Brewer), and as such what it meant to see him convicted of such a serious crime.
Michael Brewer
7. Michael Brewer was the director of music at Chetham’s for 20 years, from his appointment in 1974. He was appointed by and directly accountable to the governing body (known at that time as the School Committee), rather than the headteacher. Brewer was a powerful figure, having complete autonomy over all matters relating to music. Mr Peter Hullah (headteacher from 1992 to 1999) told the Inquiry that “the Director of Music was the School”. Brewer was also highly regarded outside the school. He left Chetham’s in December 1994 and continued to work with young people as the artistic director of the National Youth Choir, which he had founded in 1983. Brewer was awarded an OBE in the 1995 New Year’s Honours List for services to music education.
8. Frances Shorney was a boarder at Chetham’s during the late 1970s and early 1980s. Brewer groomed and sexually abused her when she was 14 and 15 years old in his office at Chetham’s and also at his family home. The sexual abuse escalated from kissing and touching to oral sex and penetrative sexual intercourse. At one point, because Miss Shorney was exhibiting emotional and behavioural problems, the headteacher, Mr John Vallins, agreed that she should move into the Brewers’ family home in order to help her cope with the pressures of the school. Brewer continued to sexually abuse her when she lived with his family. It was not until many years after she left Chetham’s that she felt able to confide in a fellow musician about the sexual abuse she had suffered as a pupil, before making formal allegations to the police in 2011.
9. In the course of its investigation into the allegations against Brewer, Greater Manchester Police spoke with a number of former pupils of the school. Several recalled that it was common knowledge amongst the student body that Brewer had an inappropriate sexual relationship with Miss Shorney and that Brewer had targeted other girls. One witness told the police that Brewer had made aggressive sexual advances towards her on a school trip when she was 16, which she had rebuffed.
10. The police also identified a former pupil, RS-A187, whom Brewer groomed and then engaged in sexual activity with over several months in 1994, when she was 17 years old and he was 49. RS-A187 gave evidence for the prosecution at the trial to show that Brewer had a sexual interest in the teenage girls in his care. Brewer did not face any criminal charges in relation to RS-A187, because it was not a criminal offence for a teacher to engage in consensual sexual activity with a pupil over 16 until 2001.
11. In November 1994, the headteacher, Mr Hullah, became suspicious of the nature of the relationship between Brewer and RS-A187. Mr Hullah asked the housemistress, Mrs Anne Rhind, to speak to RS-A187, and later spoke to Brewer himself. Brewer immediately acknowledged to the headteacher that a personal relationship had developed with RS-A187 which “did cross a professional boundary”, and said that his position had become untenable and that he wished to resign immediately.
12. The governing body accepted Brewer’s resignation with immediate effect, which brought the headteacher’s investigation into the matter to an “abrupt halt”. Brewer faced no disciplinary action. The reason given publicly for his departure was that he had retired due to ill health. Brewer told the court in 2013 that this was Mr Hullah’s suggestion, and accepted that this had been a “cover-up”. Mr Hullah told the Inquiry that Brewer had resigned and not retired, and that Brewer had not complained of any health problems at that time, but he denied that there had been a cover up in 1994. Mr Hullah stated that he had informed the governing body of all the circumstances of Brewer’s resignation from the school.
13. Brewer was paid his full salary from when he left Chetham’s in December 1994 until August 1995, which Mr Hullah considered to be a gesture of goodwill on the part of the governing body. Brewer continued to be associated with Chetham’s as an advisor and to work closely with young people as the artistic director of the National Youth Choir. Mr Hullah did not notify the National Youth Choir, the local authority or the Department for Education (which at that time operated ‘List 99’, a barred list of those deemed unsuitable to work with children) of the circumstances or the fact of Brewer’s resignation, although there was a statutory duty to notify the Department for Education of such resignations.
Mr Hullah did not consider that the circumstances of Brewer’s resignation were such as to require any referrals or notification.
14. In February 2013, Brewer was convicted of indecently assaulting Frances Shorney on multiple occasions when she was under 16.105 The trial judge sentenced Brewer to six years’ imprisonment and described him as a “predatory sex offender” whose behaviour was “manipulative and depraved”. He noted that Brewer’s power and influence in the school was such that he was able “with little, if any, prospect of challenge from anyone else”. He also expressed surprise that witnesses testified to Brewer’s good character in the knowledge that he had conducted a clandestine relationship with a pupil, and appeared to be “more than happy to overlook one of the most shocking aspects of this case”. (pp. 25-27)
The case of Chris Ling constitutes the most serious of all the allegations relating to Chetham’s, but was essentially ‘hushed up’ for over 20 years, even though many including myself were fully aware of the nature of his departure both from the school and the country (though not the scale or full nature of the offences). It is quite amazing to note the lack of interest on the part of headteacher John Vallins in Chris Ling’s whereabouts, together with his pupils, after fleeing to the United States.
Christopher Ling
15. Christopher Ling taught the violin at Chetham’s. He was recruited by Brewer in 1985. He left Chetham’s at the end of the school year in summer 1990 for a teaching role at the University of Miami, taking with him as his pupils a small group of girls from Chetham’s.
16. In autumn 1990, a female pupil at Chetham’s, RS-A3, disclosed that she had been sexually abused over a long period of time by Ling, who had been her violin tutor. Greater Manchester Police began a criminal investigation. The police identified eight girls who alleged they had been sexually abused by Ling while they were pupils at the school. The victims were aged between 9 and 15 years at the start of the abuse, which ranged from kissing, spanking and sexual touching to full sexual intercourse in some cases. Ling operated a reward and punishment system which enabled him to facilitate the sexual abuse, most of which took place at his private residence during tuition at weekends and on music courses during the school holidays. Some sexual assaults occurred in a small coffee room at Chetham’s.
17. Two of Ling’s victims, RS-A1 and RS-A2, gave evidence to the Inquiry. They both recalled making statements to the police in 1990. RS-A1 was interviewed at home over five hours. RS-A2 was then 16 years old. She told the Inquiry that she had been interviewed by the police in the presence of the housemistress, Mrs Rhind, which she found unhelpful. She had the impression that Mrs Rhind was worried about the reputation of the school and was angry with her.
18. RS-A2 recalled the police subsequently telling her that the case would not proceed due to a lack of evidence. Mr Vallins recalled that the police said there was sufficient evidence to charge Ling but that the offences were not extraditable. It appears that the prosecutor was wrongly advised by a senior Crown Prosecution Service lawyer that it was not possible to seek extradition from the USA in the circumstances.
19. Once it was clear that Ling would not be prosecuted, the school did not carry out any investigation into his conduct, nor did the governors or headteacher initiate any review of child protection arrangements at the school. The school did not notify children’s social care or the Department for Education of the allegations. The school did not make contact with Ling’s employer in the USA at any point. Mr Vallins stated that the school was not aware of where Ling was teaching, even though he had taken a number of pupils from Chetham’s with him. No school policies or procedures were updated or introduced. The children affected were not offered any counselling or any other form of support by the school. RS-A1 recalled “It was as if it hadn’t happened”. (pp. 27-28)
In the section on Operation Kiso, do note also further comments relating to a houseparent.
Operation Kiso
20. In the aftermath of Brewer’s trial, the police received a large number of complaints by former students of Chetham’s and the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester (RNCM, a college for students aged over 18, some of whom had been pupils at Chetham’s) alleging non-recent sexual abuse of pupils and students by staff. In February 2014, Greater Manchester Police launched Operation Kiso, a large-scale investigation into sexual offending at both institutions. During this investigation, 47 alleged perpetrators were reported to the police, 35 of whom were associated with Chetham’s. A number of the allegations related to staff who were deceased and therefore could not be prosecuted, including the highly esteemed piano teacher Ryszard Bakst, against whom the police compiled a “compelling”file of evidence, including complaints from six women. Criminal charges were brought against four men for sexual offences against pupils at Chetham’s: Nicholas Smith, Malcolm Layfield, Christopher Ling and Wen Zhou Li.
21. Nicholas Smith was associated with Chetham’s as a visiting conductor. In September 2014, he was sentenced to 8 months’ imprisonment after pleading guilty to indecently assaulting a 14 or 15-year-old Chetham’s pupil in the late 1970s. Smith had invited RS-A164 to his cottage for the weekend, as he knew she was homesick and unhappy, having endured “frankly sadistic” treatment at the hands of a housemistress. He sexually assaulted her by knocking her to the ground and groping her while his wife was in the bath upstairs. RS-A164 had been a pupil at Chetham’s at the same time as Frances Shorney and decided to come forward after reading reports of her death.
22. Malcolm Layfield taught and conducted chamber music at Chetham’s in the 1970s and 1980s, and also at the RNCM where he was appointed head of strings in 2002. Layfield was tried and acquitted in 2015 of the rape of an 18-year-old student in the 1980s, when he had been in his 30s. During the trial, he claimed that the sex had been consensual but admitted behaving “shamefully” by having consensual sexual intercourse with a number of his female students from Chetham’s and the RNCM, the youngest of whom was 17, during the 1980s.
23. In 2013, a teacher at Chetham’s, Wen Zhou Li, was arrested and charged with the rape of an overseas student, RS-A165, in the late 1990s.123 The charges were withdrawn before trial due to evidential issues. RS-A165 then brought a civil claim against Chetham’s for the sexual abuse she alleged that Li had committed against her when he was her tutor and her educational guardian at the school. In May 2021, a civil court found that Wen Zhou Li had kissed RS-A165 on several occasions in a teaching room at Chetham’s when she was 15, and that this was “the beginning of an escalating course of sexual assaults” committed in his car and in his flat, where she stayed on occasion because he was her educational guardian.The judge found that “Mr Li exploited the opportunities presented by being [RS-A165’s] teacher and by being her guardian”. The judge also found that Li was instrumental in persuading RS-A165 and her parents that she should leave the school where she was studying music and follow him to his new teaching post at Chetham’s in 1996. Chetham’s was ordered to pay damages to RS-A165.
24. During Operation Kiso, Greater Manchester Police re-investigated the Christopher Ling case. Because the original files of evidence were no longer in existence, the police had to interview the complainants again and build a new case file. The investigation identified 12 women who alleged that they had been abused by Ling as children, eight of whom had been pupils of Ling’s at Chetham’s. The Chetham’s pupils included RS-A1, RS-A2, RS-A3, RS-A4 and RS-A5, all of whom provided accounts of their abuse to the Inquiry.
25. In 2014, the police and the Crown Prosecution Service pursued Ling’s extradition from the USA to stand trial in England on 77 sexual offence charges relating to 11 complainants. In September 2015, as US Marshals arrived at his Los Angeles home with a warrant for his arrest, Ling shot himself dead. (pp. 28-29).
Then there are the following sections on the other three specialist music schools in England. That on the Menuhin School, which mentions the allegations against Marcel Gazelle, and also raises questions about safeguarding responses to other more recent allegations.
The Yehudi Menuhin School
26. The Yehudi Menuhin School was founded in 1963 by the celebrated violinist Yehudi Menuhin with the objective of educating young string players and pianists with exceptional musical ability from across the world. It began with 15 pupils and remains the smallest of the specialist schools, with 86 students across nine year-groups as at March 2019, and 68 full or weekly boarders. Sixty-one pupils benefit from MDS funding.130 The school is situated in Stoke d’Abernon, near Cobham in Surrey.
Allegations of non-recent child sexual abuse
27. In May 2013, following press reports of the trial and conviction of Brewer and the death of Mrs Andrade, Channel 4 News broadcast a segment focussing on allegations of non-recent child sexual abuse at specialist music schools. A number of former pupils spoke to Channel 4 News to allege sexual abuse by Mr Marcel Gazelle, a renowned pianist and the first director of music at The Yehudi Menuhin School. He died in 1969. One complainant recalled him coming into the dormitory in the morning, and his hands tickling her under the bedclothes “where they shouldn’t be”.
28. Around the time of the Channel 4 broadcast, four women contacted the headteacher, Dr Richard Hillier, to inform him of sexual abuse by Gazelle when they were among the first pupils at the school in the 1960s. All allegations were referred to the police, who logged the reports but took no further action as Gazelle was deceased. Dr Hillier discussed the complaints of non-recent sexual abuse with the school’s designated safeguarding lead (DSL), the senior management team and the chair of governors. No changes were made to school policies, because Dr Hillier was satisfied that music staff were no longer permitted to access boarding houses.
29. In 2009, a former student, RS-A218, contacted the director of music with allegations that a non-music teacher repeatedly sexually abused her over a 2-year period in the late 1970s or early 1980s, when she was under 13 years of age. RS-A218 did not wish to make a complaint to the police, and it appears that the allegation was not referred to the police at that time. When the director of music brought the allegation to the attention of Dr Hillier in 2013, Dr Hillier arranged to meet and speak with RS-A218 before referring the matter to the police, without naming her, in accordance with her wishes.
RS-F13
30. In around 2006, a female student complained that her tutor, RS-F13, had made sexualised and inappropriate comments in one-to-one instrumental lessons, which made her uncomfortable. The student was moved to another teacher by the headteacher, Mr Nicholas Chisholm. Mr Chisholm warned RS-F13 verbally about using inappropriate language but at that time he did not consider this to indicate a possible safeguarding risk and so the matter was not notified to the local authority.
31. In 2013, another female student, RS-A204, made an allegation that RS-F13 had attempted to kiss her a year previously. The allegation was referred to the local authority designated officer (LADO). A disciplinary investigation concluded that the disputed allegation was “unsubstantiated”. However, the school had sufficient concerns regarding RS-F13 that restrictions were placed upon his teaching relating to the time and location of his lessons. RS-F13 also had to undertake further safeguarding training.
32. Around the same time, a former student of a different specialist music school, RS-A170, made a complaint through Operation Kiso that RS-F13 had a sexual relationship with her in the 1980s, when she was 16 and his pupil.143 RS-A170’s account to the police raised issues regarding her consent to some of the sexual activity but she declined to support a prosecution. An internet search by a Greater Manchester Police officer revealed that RS-F13 was teaching at The Yehudi Menuhin School but the officer did not record this information and did not pass it on to the police force to which the case was referred (the alleged incidents were not connected with Chetham’s or the RNCM and did not take place within the operational area of Greater Manchester Police). No police force contacted The Yehudi Menuhin School in connection with RS-A170’s allegations to ascertain whether any potential safeguarding risks to children were appropriately managed. The Yehudi Menuhin School was not made aware in 2013 of the existence of RS-A170’s allegations about RS-F13’s conduct. Had the school been aware of this information, it would have been relevant to the investigation of the allegation made by RS-A204.
33. Further concerns regarding RS-F13’s conduct were raised in 2014, when a parent complained to the school’s DSL that RS-F13 had an overly close relationship with her child. He wanted to take photographs of her, would not permit her father to stay when he gave lessons at his private residence, gave her hand massages and seemed to have power over her. The pupil was moved to a different teacher. Dr Hillier and the DSL decided that the concerns did not warrant discussion with the LADO. A short time later, RS-F13 resigned from the school over an unrelated issue regarding new contractual terms. (pp. 29-31)
The section on Wells Cathedral School concentrates in particular on the case of Julien Bertrand, another case, the relationship of pupils to cathedral staff, and another case involving allegations against Malcolm Layfield, who faced criminal investigations with relation to Chetham’s, as documented above/
Wells Cathedral School
34. Wells Cathedral School is an independent day and boarding school for boys and girls in Somerset. It is a relatively small school of around 750 pupils from nursery to sixth form. There are 556 pupils in the senior school, approximately half of whom board, and there are 188 pupils whose parents live overseas. Unlike the other specialist music schools, it is predominantly an all-round school, with only around one-quarter of its pupils (approximately 160) from Year 6 upwards enrolled in the specialist music programme. It has very close links with the neighbouring Cathedral – all choristers are educated at Wells Cathedral School and some Cathedral employees have contact with pupils through the choir and music teaching.
Julien Bertrand
35. In 2006, Julien Bertrand, a former member of staff at Wells Cathedral School, was convicted of sexual offences against RS-A202 and another boy at a school where he had worked previously, and was sentenced to six years’ imprisonment. Bertrand groomed RS-A202 and his family over a number of years. The offending began at a different school when RS-A202 was 14 years old, culminating in penetrative sexual assaults at Wells Cathedral School when RS-A202 was 17 years old. Bertrand began working at Wells Cathedral school as a graduate music assistant in 2002, with responsibility for supervising practice sessions for those pupils who were specialist musicians. Bertrand quickly volunteered his services as a French assistant and a badminton coach, and was appointed assistant housemaster in 2003. Several members of staff at Wells Cathedral School voiced concerns to the deputy headteacher or the headteacher about the conduct of Bertrand in relation to pupils at the school, and especially towards RS-A202. Bertrand was given an informal warning in 2003 for inviting RS-A202 to his room late at night.155 In 2004, Bertrand began an Open University course to train as a music teacher, whilst he continued working at the school. Around this time, the boys in the house where Bertrand was assistant housemaster were noted to be making comments about his closeness with RS-A202. These concerns were discussed with the housemaster, who spoke to Bertrand and considered that this failure to observe appropriate boundaries was due to Bertrand’s inexperience in the role. In 2005, RS-A202 disclosed to a member of Cathedral staff that he had been sexually abused by Bertrand. The deputy headteacher was informed and he immediately reported the allegations to the police. Bertrand was arrested the same day. His flat at the school was searched and the police seized evidence including photographs and videos of RS-A202 and other boys. The headteacher suspended Bertrand and prohibited him from entering the school grounds.
36. RS-A202 was offered counselling with the school counsellor, which he accepted. The parents of children at the school were informed that Bertrand had been suspended following an allegation of sexual abuse, without identifying RS-A202. The school had obtained written references before employing Bertrand but after his arrest the DSL found that the references were missing from Bertrand’s file. It was suspected that Bertrand may have removed them himself. Following the arrest of Bertrand, Wells Cathedral School reviewed and revised its safeguarding policies and practice, including the staff code of conduct. External training providers were invited to give safeguarding training to all staff.
Other safeguarding concerns
37. In the early 2000s, a number of low-level concerns were raised in relation to the conduct of RS-F23, another member of staff at Wells Cathedral School. The DSL was concerned by RS-F23’s repeated infractions of school rules and failures to maintain appropriate professional boundaries. The DSL kept detailed dated records of any concerns reported to her by staff, as well as her own observations of RS-F23 and his interactions with children at the school. The DSL ensured that all reported concerns were passed on to the deputy headteacher or headteacher. The school took a number of actions in response to these concerns, which included giving a formal warning in relation to aspects of his conduct, ensuring he was mentored in his paid role and requiring him to cease his voluntary role at the school, which had given him access to the boarding house.
38. In addition, Mrs Helen Bennett stated that in her role as DSL, she received and recorded a number of concerns over a period of several years that a member of Cathedral staff had given lifts to boys in his car, and had allowed children to enter his accommodation next to the school grounds, which was a breach of his contract with the Cathedral. Mrs Bennett said that she discussed her concerns with the Cathedral safeguarding staff but, to her disappointment, no formal disciplinary action was taken by the Cathedral in respect of this conduct by a member of its staff. Since May 2019, a written Safeguarding Partnership has been established between the school and the Cathedral. The headteacher, Mr Alistair Tighe, considered that under the partnership agreement it would “probably not” be open to the Cathedral safeguarding authorities to take a less serious view of a safeguarding concern than the school, because of commonalities in their respective policies. A code of conduct for Cathedral staff coming into contact with choristers was in development at the time of the Phase 1 hearing.
39. In 2013, allegations came to light regarding the misconduct of Malcolm Layfield towards a sixth-form pupil under the age of 18 on a Wells Cathedral School music tour abroad in 1990. Mr Layfield was not a member of staff but had accompanied the school tour as guest conductor. There was no criminal prosecution arising from the allegations. When the allegations were reported in the press in 2013, the school decided to commission two independent safeguarding reviews from external experts – one to examine the school’s response in 1990 to the rumours which had surfaced at that time, and a second to audit the effectiveness of the current safeguarding arrangements at the school. The first review, by a former police child protection officer, concluded that the school had acted in accordance with child protection practice in 1990, by attempting an investigation and questioning potential witnesses (the girl had not wished to speak to the headteacher or make a complaint at the time). The second review found that the school’s safeguarding practice in 2013 was compliant with statutory requirements, although it made some recommendations for
improving the security of the school site, which were implemented by the school. (pp. 31-33)
The section on the Purcell School is longer than all the others except for Chetham’s, and raises equally serious issues about the way the institution dealt with allegations and the behaviour of former headteacher Peter Crook.
The Purcell School for Young Musicians
40. The Central Tutorial School for Young Musicians was founded in 1962 in central London, changing its name to The Purcell School for Young Musicians (the Purcell School) in 1973 and moving to its current site in Bushey, Hertfordshire in 1997. It teaches 180 boys and girls from the ages of 10 to 18, although almost half the student body is in the sixth form. The majority of the pupils board but it has approximately 40 day pupils. The school had 36 international students in October 2019.
41. The Inquiry examined concerns raised regarding Mr Peter Crook, the headteacher of the Purcell School from 2007 to 2011, and allegations made against two members of staff, RS-F20 and RS-F80, during his headship.
42. A former teacher at the Purcell School, Mr Duncan McTier, was the subject of allegations brought to the police during Operation Kiso. In November 2014, he pleaded guilty to two counts of indecent assault and one attempted indecent assault which took place in the 1980s. The three victims had all been students of McTier, two at the RNCM and one at the Purcell School. In 1985, McTier had attempted to indecently assault the 17-year-old Purcell student by trying to grope her at his home after a private lesson. In response to newspaper reports that McTier had been charged with offences against students, the Purcell School issued a press release which stated that McTier had not been an employee of the school but had given private lessons to some pupils. The press release stated that a recent inspection report by the Independent Schools Inspectorate (ISI) confirmed that the school’s procedures were robust.
Allegations against RS-F20
43. In January 2009, while attending an external course, a Purcell sixth-form student aged under 18 alleged that she had been in an inappropriate sexual relationship with a member of staff, RS-F20. The allegation was reported by the course leader to the local authority who notified the police. The student, RS-A160, spoke to the police and indicated that there had been consensual sexual activity with RS-F20 when she was over 16. This would have constituted an ‘abuse of trust’ offence under section 16 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003. RS-F20 was interviewed by police and denied any sexual activity but did accept that he had hugged RS-A160 and kissed her on the cheek.173 RS-A160 was not willing to support a prosecution and the investigation concluded that the allegation was “unfounded”.
44. The case was referred back to the Purcell School. The headteacher, Mr Crook, arranged for RS-F20 to undertake further safeguarding training with the DSL. No disciplinary action was taken against RS-F20, and his subsequent behaviour and contact with students was not monitored. No records of the allegation or of any steps taken were kept by the school.
45. Five years later, in 2014, another sixth-form student under the age of 18 made similar allegations against RS-F20. RS-A191 disclosed to a friend that she had a sexual “relationship” with RS-F20, and showed text messages of a sexual nature from RS-F20. The police and the local authority began a joint investigation, and notified the Purcell School. The then headteacher, Mr David Thomas, suspended RS-F20 and also notified the chair of governors, the DSL and the deputy headteacher. While the local authority investigation considered that the allegations were substantiated, the police concluded that there was insufficient evidence to prosecute RS-F20, as RS-A191 was unwilling to provide evidence. A police application to obtain a Risk of Sexual Harm Order in order to restrict RS-F20’s contact with children was unsuccessful.
46. The case was referred back to the Purcell School for an internal investigation. RS-F20 resigned before a disciplinary meeting could take place. Mr Thomas took the view that there was insufficient evidence to proceed with the disciplinary investigation. He made a referral to the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS), setting out the circumstances of RS-F20’s resignation from the school and also notified the Charity Commission of the incident. The DBS referred the case to the National College for Teaching and Leadership (NCTL) but it had no jurisdiction because RS-F20’s role was not defined as unsupervised teaching work. The Purcell School retained records relating to the 2014 allegation against RS-F20, and liaised with police subsequently when concerns were raised about RS-F20 contacting female pupils at the school via social media.
Allegations against RS-F80
47. In May 2010, RS-A192, a Purcell sixth-form student aged under 18, disclosed to a member of school staff that for some months she had been in an inappropriate relationship with a young staff member, RS-F80. RS-A192 spoke to several other staff members and reported the abuse to Childline before the school notified the LADO of the allegation two days later. RS-A192 alleged that RS-F80 had digitally penetrated her six months earlier, on the school field in the dark, when they were disturbed by the headteacher, Mr Crook. Mr Crook later told the strategy meeting and the Inquiry that he had not witnessed any sexual activity between RS-F80 and RS-A192 but recalled that he had told them to go inside and requested the DSL to ensure that RS-F80 received some further safeguarding training. At the time, Mr Crook did not report the incident to the LADO or arrange for anyone to speak to RS-A192, and no record of the incident was made.
48. After the LADO was notified in May 2010, the police commenced a criminal investigation. RS-A192 and RS-F80 were both interviewed, as was the headteacher. Mr Crook told the police that he thought that RS-A192 was not telling the truth, and believed that “fantasy and exaggeration featured heavily in her account of events”. When RS-F80 was interviewed by police, he admitted that an inappropriate sexual relationship had existed and that RS-A192 had told the truth about the sexual activity on the field. On 23 September 2010, RS-F80 accepted a police caution for the offence of sexual touching while being in a position of trust and was placed on the Sex Offenders Register. The LADO reminded the headteacher to refer the case to the Independent Safeguarding Authority to consider whether to bar RS-F80 from working with children, which he did.
Safeguarding concerns relating to the conduct of the headteacher
49. Throughout 2009 and 2010, a number of concerns were raised by staff and some parents regarding the behaviour of Mr Crook, in relation to inappropriate conversations he was alleged to have had with children at the school.
50. The first concern to be raised related to a meeting with the headteacher, the housemaster and the Year 9 boarding boys at the headteacher’s private accommodation on the school campus, on a Sunday evening in May 2009. Mr Crook described it as a personal, social and health education (PSHE) lesson and a “sexual talk”. He told the Inquiry it was in response to an incident of sexualised bullying in the boarding house involving two or three boys from that year group, in which two boys were rumoured to have ejaculated onto the bed of a third boy. A covert recording of the headteacher was made by one of the boys, which did not surface until some months after the meeting was held.
51. During the meeting, Mr Crook spoke to the boys at length about puberty, masturbation, pornography and other sexual matters. He discussed his own sexual experiences and fantasies. He told the boys how to measure their penises and spoke to the boys about sexual experimentation with one another, telling them that he would ignore it if he caught two boys masturbating each other. Mr Crook used explicit and obscene language during the meeting.
52. A group of school staff wrote anonymously to the chair of governors, Mr Graham Smallbone, about the meeting at the headteacher’s house. Mr Smallbone responded by letter, stating that he could not respond to the concerns without knowing the identity of the staff members. When no action was taken, whistleblowers on the school staff subsequently anonymously notified the local authority of their concerns about the conduct of the headteacher. The local authority considered the complaint over a series of strategy meetings in which the chair of governors participated. The local authority decided the allegation was “unsubstantiated” on the basis that the incident did not amount to a safeguarding risk. The local authority sent social workers to the Purcell School to ascertain the welfare of the boy who was alleged to have been bullied.
53. A number of other complaints were notified to the LADO regarding Mr Crook’s alleged conduct and language with pupils. The local authority considered each allegation, and all but one were concluded as unfounded or unsubstantiated. In July 2009, the local authority found an allegation was “substantiated” that Mr Crook had used obscene and inappropriate sexually explicit language when questioning two students who were rumoured to be in a sexual relationship.
54. The substantiated case was referred back to the school for the board of governors to take disciplinary action against Mr Crook. In September 2009, Mr Smallbone requested that the LADO reconsider the conclusion that the allegation was “substantiated”. The LADO declined to do so. The governing body commissioned an “independent review” to ascertain why staff had reported their concerns directly to the LADO, which the chair of governors considered to be in contravention of school procedures. The reviewers interviewed 47 members of staff. Their conclusions included that Mr Crook had “used totally inappropriate language with pupils and has taken a dangerously personal interest in their sexual conduct” and recommended that he be given a formal final written warning and placed on probation. The governing body convened a disciplinary meeting in November 2009, when they decided not to discipline the headteacher with a formal warning or otherwise.
55. When a covert recording of Mr Crook’s remarks surfaced several months after the initial referral, the local authority reconvened a number of strategy meetings to consider the matter again, and concluded that the allegation was “unfounded” as there was no evidence of any intent to harm children. The strategy meeting concluded that the ‘PSHE lesson’ was not an appropriate response to the allegation of bullying and that Mr Crook had made inappropriate remarks to the boys. They advised that these concerns should be dealt with through the school’s own disciplinary procedures, which Mr Smallbone assured them had been done. In fact, Mr Crook was never the subject of any disciplinary sanction in relation to his inappropriate conversations with children at the school.
56. Mr Crook resigned from the school in November 2011, having signed a compromise agreement.
57. In 2018, the governors of the Purcell School commissioned an independent safeguarding review to consider the school’s responses to a number of previous child safeguarding concerns. The reviewer noted that “the Chair of Governors and the Headteacher in post at the time of the case studies were not available for interview and so the reviewer was only able to examine documentary evidence”. The reviewers concluded that Mr Crook had made a “serious error of judgement” in holding a PSHE session in the manner he did and that it raised questions about the safeguarding culture of the school. The independent review also concluded that the chair of governors had not acted impartially in dealing with the complaints against the headteacher and that the failure to discipline Mr Crook was a “misjudgement”. (pp. 33-37)
The following passages from the section on Boarding Schools are also very relevant. Following the revelations of the Brewer trial and other information coming into public view about sexual and other abuse at Chetham’s, I noted amongst the alumni community marked differences in responses between boarders and ‘day pupils’ (those who commuted in on a daily basis, and were not resident). Many of the latter were less inclined to believe in the scale of the issue and its impact upon former pupils, not having experienced that sense of vulnerability which comes from being away from home, not being cared for by those with a personal investment in one’s welfare comparable to that of a parent, and feeling so much at their mercy. The consequences of this for those who suffered abuse (as well as chronic bullying and other behaviours) could be catastrophic.
3. Boarding schools could be said to provide “the ideal environment for grooming”. Certain characteristics unique to the boarding environment heighten the risks of sexual abuse of pupils by staff.
3.1. Boarders are under the authority of adults in the school and are dependent upon them for their welfare. Staff may live on site and spend time alone with individual children, creating opportunities for grooming and abuse, as was the case with Julien Bertrand, who sexually abused a boarding pupil at Wells Cathedral School. For children living away from home, staff play a unique role in their lives and this may create a dynamic of power and control that can be abused by offenders. The innate power imbalance between children wanting to succeed and staff responsible for helping them can facilitate abuse. This is especially true of staff with pastoral roles, such as housemasters or housemistresses and matrons. In some boarding schools, a sense of staff having power and control over pupils may be exacerbated by a strong sense of hierarchy within the school.
3.2. There is often a higher incidence of individual tuition at boarding schools, in music or sports coaching or for additional academic tuition. This can lead to unique and close relationships developing between pupils and staff. At Chetham’s in the 1980s and 1990s, both Michael Brewer and Christopher Ling, amongst others, exploited their positions of power and their one-to-one tuition with pupils to sexually abuse children.
3.3. Some boarding schools, especially long-established institutions, have developed strong traditions and a particular ethos in which the institution’s own rules and ways of doing things are seen as paramount. This may lead to a sense of exceptionalism and the tolerance of perceived ‘idiosyncrasies’ from staff, which can mask abusive or grooming behaviours. This enabled Jonathan Thomson-Glover’s offending to go undetected at Clifton College: “With a father and a grandfather who were Old Cliftonians, he had a deep understanding of the school’s history, culture and values, which camouflaged his eccentric behaviour”.
3.4. Boarding schools often produce a strong sense of group allegiance and very close relationships may exist between members of staff, some of whom will live together on site. Pupils’ awareness of such allegiances between staff may make it more difficult to identify staff members in whom they may confide, impeding the reporting of concerns. As was reflected in the evidence from Clifton College, parents as well as school governors in the independent sector may have attended the school themselves and have a strong loyalty to the institution and a tendency to protect its reputation.
3.5. Boarding pupils can be emotionally isolated because they are separated from their parents. Sometimes parents may choose to send their children to boarding school to distance them from domestic difficulties. Some boarding schools are also geographically isolated and some have limited opportunities for contact with people outside of the school. This was the case with many of the schools referenced in Counsel’s closed residential schools account.
3.6. Around one-third of boarding pupils are international students who are living far away from their families, having to adapt to what may be a very different culture, and who may also encounter difficulties in communicating in English. Some international pupils may have limited opportunities to contact their families, either because of time-zone differences or because of the regime of the school.
3.7. The very nature of boarding schools can create a number of issues that can compromise effective safeguarding. The school may exist within a “bubble where there is little influence over the norms of the school from the outside environment”. Boarding schools may be less often visited by external agencies, which can find it difficult to understand their practices and ethos. (pp. 57-58).
Then there is a section looking at specific dangers in the context of specialist music education, drawing in part on my testimony. The creation of a special conference between music and dance schools to discuss safeguarding is to be welcomed, but there is still much more work to be done on the specific dangers of this type of education in all respects – also relating to the psychological welfare of those who will invest a large amount of their time and emotional energy during formative years to an elusive goal which few will attain (because of limited amount of work). These former pupils, sometimes having to deal with feelings of failure and worthlessness, are every bit as much a part of the schools’ legacy as those (including myself) who have gone onto successful musical careers.
C.3: Additional risks in specialist music schools
8. The Inquiry heard evidence about child sexual abuse and safeguarding concerns which arose at the four specialist music schools in England. These are boarding schools, although some pupils attend as day pupils. All the specialist music schools include overseas students amongst their boarding pupils, who may be far from home and family.
9. Music schools present particular challenges in terms of safeguarding. Instrumental tuition involves a high proportion of one-to-one teaching, usually with the same tutor, and often a degree of physical contact will be necessary. At specialist music schools, tuition may be provided by renowned and distinguished instrumentalists, who teach on a freelance basis without qualifications or training for teaching children. In the case of choir schools, choristers will come into regular contact with adults in the choir, or working at the cathedral, who are not employees of the school. Children who aspire to become successful musicians may look up to and even revere their teacher, who may seek to exploit their power and authority. There can be great pressure on children to succeed and make a career in the somewhat closed world of classical music. Concerns about being seen as ‘difficult’ may dissuade children from making complaints about their teachers, who can have significant influence over their future education and career. Evidence from former pupils indicated that the atmosphere within specialist music schools could be intensely competitive and emotionally charged, with insufficient regard for the emotional well-being of children.
10. The specialist music schools are independent boarding schools and are required to comply with the Independent School Standards and the NMS for boarding schools. Currently, there are no additional safeguarding requirements for specialist music education, notwithstanding the additional risks in these settings. A safeguarding conference took place between the specialist music and dance schools in 2018 and these schools now meet twice a year to discuss safeguarding. (pp. 59-60).
There is also an important passage on the role of educational guardians in residential schools, referencing a specific recent example involving Chetham’s:
Educational guardians
14. International students whose parents are not in the UK need an educational guardian
if they attend a British boarding school in order to obtain the relevant visa. Educational
guardians act in place of the parents while the child is in the UK, supporting the child
throughout their studies and providing a home for them during holidays or weekends.
He or she may be an individual appointed by the parents, such as a family member or
a friend of the family, or the parents may use the services of an agency to provide an
educational guardian.
15. Educational guardians are unregulated. There is no statutory licence, compulsory
registration or training required for individuals or companies wishing to provide educational
guardian services. If an educational guardian is appointed by a parent, the guardian is not required to comply with any standards or to obtain a Disclosure and Barring Service
(DBS) certificate, and the school is not required to carry out any checks. This means
that individuals who are unsuitable to work with children, or even those who have criminal
convictions for child sexual abuse, can be appointed as educational guardians.
16. Currently, the NMS for boarding schools permit a member of school staff to be
appointed as the educational guardian of an international student, although some schools
do not permit this. As Ms Richards told us, school staff acting as educational guardians
blurs boundaries, with the potential to cause problems or to prevent problems surfacing.
At Chetham’s in the late 1990s, for example, violin tutor Wen Zhou Li was the educational
guardian of a 16-year-old girl whom he sexually abused while she was residing with him
during weekends and school holidays. In 2013, shortly after the arrest of Wen Zhou Li,
ISI inspectors found that there was another staff member at the school who was acting as an
educational guardian to a student.
I will follow this up with another blog post considering the remaining sections of the report which are relevant to specialist music schools, their conclusions, and offer some more extended reflections of my own.
Reports from the Malcolm Layfield Trial
Posted: June 2, 2015 Filed under: Abuse, Chetham's, Music - General, Musical Education | Tags: amy welch, chetham's, clare fallon, dave guest, Frances Andrade, helen pidd, Malcolm Layfield, michael brewer, music, music school abuse, nicholas smith, Royal Northern College of Music 8 CommentsIn this blog post, which I will update regularly, I will be posting all available reports from the rape trial of former Chetham’s violin teacher and Head of Strings at the Royal Northern College of Music, Malcolm Layfield. As this is a live trial at the time of posting, there will be no comment whatsoever, and any comments posted below which would be even remotely prejudicial will be instantly removed. There are also several reporters live tweeting from the trial, and I will endeavour to include their tweets here too.
Day 1: Monday June 1st, 2015
Tweets from @helenpidd , Northern Editor of The Guardian
I’m in Manchester crown court to report on the rape trial of former Chetham’s and Royal College of Music teacher, Malcolm Layfield.
Apologies: Malcolm Layfield was head of strings at the RNCM until February 2013.
Malcolm Layfield’s rape trial has not begun yet. A jury should be empanelled this afternoon and the prosecution will open the case.
Malcolm Layfield admits “inappropriate sexual relationships” with a number of pupils, including the complainant, but denies 1 count of rape.
One of Malcolm Layfield’s pupils claims he plied her with drink and drove her to “the middle of nowhere” and raped her when she was 18.
A police video interview given by Layfield’s alleged victim is shown to the jury. Supervision “woefully inadequate” at Chetham’s in 1982.
Victim says Layfield groomed her by confiding in her about an affair he was having with a woman in London. “I was his confidante.”
After the rape the victim went to the RNCM where she had consensual sex with Layfield for a 6 week period, usually in the back of his car…
“He called it an affair but it wasn’t. There was no affection, no romance. It was him abusing his power to get sex.” Layfield’s complainant.
…but once he instigated sex at his house in Didsbury, South Manchester, when his wife and children were home:” absolutely disgusting”.
Tweets from @mrdaveguest , BBC Northwest Tonight chief reporter
Former head of strings at Royal Northern College of music in court accused of raping a student in 1982.
Malcolm Layfield denies the allegation but prosecution claim he used his power and influence to get what he wanted from the teenager.
In video interview Mr Layfield’s accuser says: “He was going to have sex with me and there was nothing I could do about it.”
Accuser says she told RNCM about Mr Layfield in 2001 when he was promoted to Head of Strings.
She added: “it was absolutely disgraceful that he was made Head of Strings.”
Malcolm Layfield’s accuser says they had sexual relationship when she was student at RNCM and he worked there but she says”it was sordid.”
Press Association Mediapoint, June 1st, 2015
Kim Pilling, ‘Violin Teacher ‘Used Power to Rape”
A violin teacher improperly used his “power and influence” to rape an 18-year-old female student, a jury has heard.
Malcolm Layfield, 63, is said to have committed the offence in the back of his car during a trip to Cornwall after he plied his alleged victim with alcohol.
Jurors at Manchester Crown Court were told it was a case about “abuse of power” in the early 1980s by the defendant who worked at the “world renowned” Chetham’s School of Music and the Royal Northern College of Music, both in Manchester.
Prosecutor Peter Cadwallader said: “He was a fine teacher with power and influence. He taught highly gifted students, many of whom had ambitions to go with their talent.
“It is alleged, in short, that he used his power and influence improperly.
“He admits that he had inappropriate sexual relationships with a number of female students.
“The complainant in this case was one such student.”
He told the jury that the pair did have a consensual sexual relationship which lasted for about six weeks but that the first occasion they had sex was rape.
Mr Cadwallader said: “For the ambitious student, her violin teacher was critical.
“Not only for her progress at those two institutions, Chetham’s and the Royal Northern College of Music, but also for his influence on her future music career.
“We suggest that he used that power and influence in an improper and inappropriate way, in essence, to obtain sex.”
Layfield, of Castle Quay, Castlefield, Manchester, denies rape.
Mr Cadwallader said the complainant accepted she “went along” with the sexual relationship “however reluctant she may have been”, but the exception was the first encounter.
The complainant was among a number of students who attended a summer course run by Layfield and his wife.
Layfield was said to have provided “a strong alcoholic punch” for the group and plied his accuser with whisky, the court heard.
His alleged victim escaped his attentions as she got into her sleeping bag upstairs but recalled him telling her to get up.
Mr Cadwallader said: “She remembers getting into his car but cannot really remember how she got there. She was very drunk by that time.
“It is the prosecution case that he (Layfield) knew full well that she was very drunk. Indeed the Crown say he was largely responsible for that.
“In her befuddled drunken state she thought he wanted to talk to her as he did in the past.
“She soon realised that it was not the case because he took her in his car to an isolated spot and got into the back of the car.
“By then she realised he was going to have sex with her, come what may, and she felt she could do nothing about it.
“She tried moving away from him, to no avail. She was frightened, she gave in.
“Submission, members of the jury, is not necessarily consent. The Crown say he knew full well at that time she was not consenting.”
He said the early 1980s was “a very different world” in which the Crown suggested that no-one would have believed her.
He said this was “perhaps illustrated” in 2001 when the complainant and others complained to the Royal Northern College of Music about Layfield’s inappropriate relationships with female pupils.
Mr Cadwallader said: “The result? He was made head of strings at the college. Promoted.
“So, members of the jury, why did she then – however reluctantly – have a consensual sexual relationship with him after the incident in Cornwall?
“The answer, the prosecution say, is power and influence.
“He had power over her progress at the college and influence over her future career within the music world.”
The jury was played a video of the police interview with the complainant.
She said she had studied at Chetham’s from the age of 14 where supervision was “woefully inadequate” and students were allowed to “run riot”.
She told a detective: “Malcolm went out of his way to cultivate a relationship where he was the mentor, the father figure.
“He always wanted to know what everyone was doing … inappropriate conversations. He wanted to be extra-friendly.”
She said he bought alcohol in the pub for under-age students on a previous school trip.
During the Cornwall trip, she said, he confided in her that he was cheating on his wife with a woman in London.
Recalling the alleged rape, she said: “There was no violence but he was using his strength.
“I suppose I just gave in and I have hated myself for that ever since. In some ways I was protecting him … how could he do that to someone? He clearly had no respect for women. He clearly targets women. I was a target.
“He knew he was going to do this. I couldn’t deal with it.”
She said she went on have sex with him in the back of his car in disused areas after lessons at the Royal Northern College of Music (RNCM).
The complainant said Layfield initiated sex with her on one occasion at his former home in Didsbury while his wife and children were in the house.
She said: “I was just going along with it. I didn’t want it. I didn’t fancy him.
“I was just not equipped to deal with it.
“He called them affairs. It was not an affair for me. There was no romance. It was just him abusing his power to get sex.”
She said he later told her that if she changed teachers at the college he would take all her freelance work away from her.
“Again, I was under his influence,” she said. “I really thought he was going to do that.
“He was a real bully as well. He was only interested in his own career and getting on in the music business.”
She said she would cry during lessons with him before the relationship eventually fizzled out.
The complainant said her memories of the alleged incident were later “triggered” when Layfield was appointed head of strings at the college, which she found “absolutely disgraceful”.
She said she rang Professor Edward Gregson, then principal of the RNCM, but said she got the impression that unless she was prepared to “cry rape” and go to court then Layfield would not have the job taken away from him.
The complainant said she felt “fobbed off” and she was not prepared to take it any further legally at that stage.
Asked by the interviewing officer how the alleged rape affected her life, she replied: “I never like being a victim. I am not that sort of person.
“I really hate him. I have spent far too long thinking about it. What I really, really want is closure.”
The trial continues tomorrow when the complainant will give evidence.
Slipped Disc, June 1st, 2015
Norman Lebrecht, ‘The Third Chetham’s Sex Abuse Trial Begins’
The rape trial has opened at Manchester Crown Court of Malcolm Layfield, former violin teacher at Chethams School and head of strings at the Royal Northern College of Music (RNCM).
Layfield is an internationally known teacher and performer. Founder of the Goldberg Ensemble, he has appeared at New York’s international Bang on a Can festival and claims to have played as concertmaster at the Carmel Bach Festival in California*. He was also leader of the London Bach Orchestra.
According to prosecution statements tweeted from the court by the Guardian’s Helen Pidd:
– In the summer of 1982 Malcolm Layfield raped an 18-year-old pupil he taught the violin, Manchester crown court hears.
– Malcolm Layfield admits “inappropriate sexual relationships” with a number of pupils, including the complainant, but denies 1 count of rape.
– One of Malcolm Layfield’s pupils claims he plied her with drink and drove her to “the middle of nowhere” and raped her when she was 18.
– A police video interview given by Layfield’s alleged victim is shown to the jury. Supervision “woefully inadequate” at Chetham’s in 1982.
The BBC’s Dave Guest adds:
– In video interview Mr Layfield’s accuser says: “He was going to have sex with me and there was nothing I could do about it.”
For updates on the trial follow @helenpidd and @mrdaveguest.
This is the third of five likely trials exposing allegations of decades of sexual abuse at Chetham’s and RNCM.
Michael Brewer, Chetham’s former Director of Music, was jailed for six years for assaults on a 14 year-old girl; his accuser, Frances Andrade, killed herself during the course of the trial.
Nicholas Smith, a conducting teacher, was jailed last year for eight months.
After Layfield, trials are expected of Wen Zhou Li and Chris Ling, both ex-Chet’s teachers.
The present head of Chet’s, Claire Moreland, who was not there at the time of the alleged offences, has announced her early retirement.
Here’s a PA report on the trial’s first day.
* Update: we are informed by the Carmel Bach Festival that he participated once, in 1994, as second chair in the first violins, not as concertmaster.
Malcolm Layfield, 63, is said to have committed offence in back of his car
The jury were told it was a case about ‘abuse of power’ by the defendant
He worked at ‘world renowned’ Chetham’s School of Music in Manchester
Court told the pair did have a six-month consensual sexual relationship
A violin teacher at a world famous music school allegedly used his ‘power and influence’ to rape an 18-year-old female student during a trip to Cornwall, a court has heard.
Malcolm Layfield, 63, is said to have committed the offence in the back of his car during the trip after he plied his alleged victim with alcohol in the early 1980s.
A jury at Manchester Crown Court were told it was a case about an ‘abuse of power’ by the defendant who worked at the ‘world renowned’ Chetham’s School of Music and the Royal Northern College of Music, both in Manchester.
Prosecutor Peter Cadwallader said: ‘He was a fine teacher with power and influence. He taught highly gifted students, many of whom had ambitions to go with their talent.
‘It is alleged, in short, that he used his power and influence improperly.
‘He admits that he had inappropriate sexual relationships with a number of female students.
‘The complainant in this case was one such student.’
He told the jury that the pair did have a consensual sexual relationship which lasted for about six weeks, but that the first occasion they had sex was rape.
Mr Cadwallader said: ‘For the ambitious student, her violin teacher was critical.
‘Not only for her progress at those two institutions, Chetham’s and the Royal Northern College of Music, but also for his influence on her future music career.
‘We suggest that he used that power and influence in an improper and inappropriate way, in essence, to obtain sex.’
Layfield, of Castle Quay, Castlefield, Manchester, denies rape. The trial continues.
A respected violin tutor ‘raped’ a teenage girl while working at the city’s ‘world-renowned’ Chetham’s School of Music, a court has been told.
Malcolm Layfield is alleged to have gone on to work as head of strings at the Royal Northern College of Music in 2001 – despite management learning of the allegation against him.
A Manchester Crown Court sex trial has been told he raped a ‘vulnerable’ Chetham’s pupil in the back of his car on a school trip during the 1980s.
In a video of a March 2013 police interview played to the jury the complainant, now a middle-aged woman, said: “I didn’t want it – I was plied with drink, I was in the middle of nowhere.”
Mr Layfield, 63, of Victoria Pit Marina, Higher Poynton, Cheshire, who is also known as John Layfield, denies rape.
The jury has been told it may be asked to consider whether there was ‘an element of the casting couch involved’ in the case.
The court heard the complainant went on to have consensual sex with the teacher for six weeks.
“There was no affection, there was no romance, nothing. It was just him abusing his power to get sex… nothing apart from stiff drinks in the bar and sordid sex in the back of his car. My self-esteem was at rock bottom – I was Malcolm’s bit on the side,” the woman said.
The woman told police that when she was at at Chetham’s Mr Layfield was ‘very friendly’ and the ‘teacher to be with’.
Describing the alleged rape that led to the ‘affair’, she claimed he ‘targeted’ her on a summer school event organised by him and his wife, confiding in her about an ‘affair’ he was conducting in London.
On the last night of the trip, its alleged, Mr Layfield ‘plied’ the victim with whisky during a party game of ‘sardines’.
“At this point I was staring to get worried”, she said, “but I still thought it’s not going to happen to me.”
He is later alleged to have ordered the pupil into his car, where the alleged attack took place.
The woman said: “He was going to have sex with me and there was not a thing I could do about it… I was in danger. There was no violence but he was using his strength. I suppose I just gave in and I have hated myself for that ever since… he’s a real bully… I hate him.” Proceeding
A violin teacher abused his power and influence to rape a pupil from a world-renowned music school in Manchester, a court has heard.
Malcolm Layfield, former head of strings at the Royal Northern College of Music (RNCM) and a one-time violin tutor at Chetham’s school of music in Manchester, admits having “inappropriate sexual relationships” with a number of his former students, including the rape complainant, a jury at Manchester crown court was told.
But the 63-year-old denies raping her in the back of his car at a summer camp in the early 1980s, when she was 18 and he was a married father in his early 30s.
Layfield’s alleged victim claims the rape took place the summer she left Chetham’s, where she had been a boarder.
Opening the case for the prosecution, Peter Cadwallader told the jury that the case involved “abuse of power”. Layfield was a “fine teacher with power and influence” who taught “highly gifted” and ambitious students, said the barrister.
“It is alleged, in short, that he used his power and influence improperly. He admits that he had inappropriate sexual relationships with a number of his former students. [The complainant, who cannot be named,] was one such student,” said Cadwallader, adding: “It will be a matter for you to consider whether there was something of the casting couch involved.”
In a police video interview played to the jury, the complainant described how Layfield groomed her by offering her lifts back from rehearsals. During the journey, he would confide in her about an affair he was having with a woman in London. “He asked me whether he should tell his wife. I was the confidante,” the witness said. “He did this, very calculated, so I was the person he would talk to.”
He would also make inappropriate remarks during their lessons, once commenting that she looked like she had “no clothes on” when she turned up in white dungarees.
Layfield also acted as a “father figure”. But he had a reputation for lavishing inappropriate attention on female pupils, said the woman. Chetham’s, said the complainant, was a place where supervision was “wholly inadequate” and children “ran riot”.
The woman described the evening leading up to the alleged rape at a summer camp in Cornwall where he plied her with whiskey. It was organised by Layfield and his wife at a cottage where they were staying with their young children.
After going to bed, she remembers waking up hearing Layfield saying “let’s get [her] up” and pulling her out of her sleeping bag with the help of two male pupils. She then recalled him driving her “to the middle of nowhere” and forcing himself on her in the back seat of the car. She described trying to pull away from him as he used his strength to rape her, before driving them back to the cottage, where his wife was up and making breakfast for his children.
Later that year, he would have sex with her after drinks at a college bar, usually in the back of his car in an abandoned car park. Once he instigated sex in the front room of his house in Didsbury, south Manchester, while his wife and children were home, she said. He was “disgusting”, the woman said, insisting that while she consented on these later occasions, she never wanted to sleep with him but felt she had to.
“He called it an affair. But it wasn’t an affair. There was no affection, no romance. It was him abusing his power to get sex. That’s what it was,” she said. “He was only interested in his own career and getting on in the music business.”
She said he once threatened to stop her getting freelance work as a musician and said she felt humiliated by being “Malcolm’s bit on the side”.
The court heard the woman first made an official complaint about Layfield in 2001, when he was promoted to head of strings at the RNCM. She described writing a letter to the then principal, Edward Gregson, telling him what Layfield had done to her and others and urging him to reconsider the appointment.
Layfield got the job and only resigned in February 2013 after Greater Manchester police began investigating him for rape.
The case continues.
BreakingNews.ie, June 1st, 2015
‘Violin teacher ‘used power to rape”
A violin teacher in the UK improperly used his “power and influence” to rape an 18-year-old female student, a jury has heard.
Malcolm Layfield, 63, is said to have committed the offence in the back of his car during a trip to Cornwall after he plied his alleged victim with alcohol.
Jurors at Manchester Crown Court were told it was a case about “abuse of power” in the early 1980s by the defendant who worked at the “world renowned” Chetham’s School of Music and the Royal Northern College of Music, both in Manchester.
Prosecutor Peter Cadwallader said: “He was a fine teacher with power and influence. He taught highly gifted students, many of whom had ambitions to go with their talent.
“It is alleged, in short, that he used his power and influence improperly.
“He admits that he had inappropriate sexual relationships with a number of female students.
“The complainant in this case was one such student.”
He told the jury that the pair did have a consensual sexual relationship which lasted for about six weeks but that the first occasion they had sex was rape.
Mr Cadwallader said: “For the ambitious student, her violin teacher was critical.
“Not only for her progress at those two institutions, Chetham’s and the Royal Northern College of Music, but also for his influence on her future music career.
“We suggest that he used that power and influence in an improper and inappropriate way, in essence, to obtain sex.”
Layfield, of Castle Quay, Castlefield, Manchester, denies rape.
The jury was played a video of the police interview with the complainant.
She said she had studied at Chetham’s from the age of 14 where supervision was “woefully inadequate” and students were allowed to “run riot”.
She told a detective: “Malcolm went out of his way to cultivate a relationship where he was the mentor, the father figure.
“He always wanted to know what everyone was doing … inappropriate conversations. He wanted to be extra-friendly.”
She said he bought alcohol in the pub for under-age students on a previous school trip.
During the Cornwall trip, she said, he confided in her that he was cheating on his wife with a woman in London.
Recalling the alleged rape, she said: “There was no violence but he was using his strength.
“I suppose I just gave in and I have hated myself for that ever since. In some ways I was protecting him … how could he do that to someone? He clearly had no respect for women. He clearly targets women. I was a target.
“He knew he was going to do this. I couldn’t deal with it.”
She said she went on to have sex with him in the back of his car in disused areas after lessons at the Royal Northern College of Music (RNCM).
The complainant said Layfield initiated sex with her on one occasion at his former home in Didsbury while his wife and children were in the house.
She said: “I was just going along with it. I didn’t want it. I didn’t fancy him.
“I was just not equipped to deal with it.
“He called them affairs. It was not an affair for me. There was no romance. It was just him abusing his power to get sex.”
She said he later told her that if she changed teachers at the college he would take all her freelance work away from her.
“Again, I was under his influence,” she said. “I really thought he was going to do that.
“He was a real bully as well. He was only interested in his own career and getting on in the music business.”
She said she would cry during lessons with him before the relationship eventually fizzled out.
The complainant said her memories of the alleged incident were later “triggered” when Layfield was appointed head of strings at the college, which she found “absolutely disgraceful”.
She said she rang Professor Edward Gregson, then principal of the RNCM, but said she got the impression that unless she was prepared to “cry rape” and go to court then Layfield would not have the job taken away from him.
The complainant said she felt “fobbed off” and she was not prepared to take it any further legally at that stage.
Asked by the interviewing officer how the alleged rape affected her life, she replied: “I never like being a victim. I am not that sort of person.
“I really hate him. I have spent far too long thinking about it. What I really, really want is closure.”
The trial continues tomorrow when the complainant will give evidence.
BBC News, June 1st, 2015
‘Chetham’s music professor ‘raped student in car’, court hears’
A former professor at a prestigious music school used his “power and influence” in order to rape a female student, a court has heard.
Malcolm Layfield, 63, denies raping an 18-year-old from Chetham’s School of Music in the early 1980s.
Manchester Crown Court heard the attack occurred during a trip to Cornwall.
Prosecutor David Cadwallader said the alleged victim didn’t complain at the time “because nobody would have believed her back then.”
She said Mr Layfield plied her with drink, took her to a remote spot in his car and raped her.
The court heard the student went on to have a consensual relationship with Mr Layfield.
‘I didn’t fancy him’
But Mr Cadwallader said she only “went along” with it despite her reluctance, because the teacher was “critical” to her success at the school and future career.
“It is alleged, in short, that he used his power and influence improperly,” the prosecutor said.
“He admits that he had inappropriate sexual relationships with a number of female students.
“The complainant in this case was one such student.”
During a filmed interview shown to the jury, the woman described the encounter alleged to have taken place in Mr Layfield’s car.
“He was going to have sex with me and there wasn’t a thing I could do about it.
“I gave in and I have hated myself for that ever since.”
Mr Layfield, of Castle Quay, Castlefield, also taught at Manchester’s Royal Northern College of Music (RNCM).
In 2001, the woman wrote to RNCM alleging Mr Layfield had been involved in inappropriate relationships with students.
He was later promoted to head of strings, Mr Cadwallader said.
The trial continues.
The Times, June 2nd, 2015
‘Music teacher ‘abused power to rape student, 18”
A violin teacher improperly used his power and influence to rape a female student, a jury has been told. Malcolm Layfield, 63, who worked at Chetham’s School of Music and the Royal Northern College of Music, allegedly raped the 18-year-old student in the back of his car during a trip to Cornwall in the early 1980s.
Peter Cadwallader, for the prosecution, told Manchester crown court that the teenager had been on a summer course organised by Mr Layfield and his wife, where he had plied her with whisky. “She remembers getting into his car but cannot really remember how she got there. She was very drunk by that time,” Mr Cadwallader said. “She realised he was going to have sex with her, and she felt she could do nothing about it.”
Mr Layfield, of Castlefield, Manchester, denies rape. He has admitted inappropriate relationships with several female students, the court was told. He went on to have a six-week affair with his alleged victim, although Mr Cadwallader said that the first time they had sex it was rape. He added: “We suggest he used that power and influence in an improper and inappropriate way, in essence, to obtain sex.” The trial continues.
The Daily Telegraph, June 2nd, 2015
‘Music school teacher ‘plied student with drink and raped her”
A VIOLIN teacher improperly used his power and influence to rape an 18-yearold female student, a jury has heard. Malcolm Layfield, 63, is said to have committed the offence in the back of his car during a trip to Cornwall after he plied his alleged victim with alcohol.
Jurors at Manchester Crown Court were told it was a case about “abuse of power” in the early 1980s by the defendant who worked at the “world renowned” Chetham’s School of Music and the Royal Northern College of Music, both in the city.
Peter Cadwallader, prosecuting, said: “He was a fine teacher with power and influence. He taught highly gifted students, many of whom had ambitions to go with their talent. It is alleged, in short, that he used his power and influence improperly.”
Mr Cadwallader told the jury the pair did have a consensual sexual relationship which lasted for about six weeks but that the first occasion they had sex was rape.
Layfield, of Castle Quay, Castlefield, Manchester, denies rape. The case continues.
Daily Mail, June 2nd, 2015
James Tozer, ‘Violin Teacher got Pupil, 18, Drunk before Raping Her’
A LEADING violin teacher plied a teenage pupil with whisky during an alcohol-fuelled game of sardines then forced her to have sex with him in the back of his car, a jury heard yesterday.
Malcolm Layfield, 63, abused his power as a tutor at the renowned Chetham’s School of Music to rape the 18-year-old, knowing his ability to influence her career prospects would ensure she did not speak out, it was claimed.
She only came forward two decades later in protest at his appointment as head of strings at the Royal Northern College of Music, but did not want to go to court.
More than ten years on, however, she changed her mind, and the teacher went on trial yesterday accused of attacking her in the early 1980s.
Layfield admits having inappropriate’ relationships with a number of students, the jury was told, but insists his six-week affair with his accuser was consensual throughout. The promising young violinist had been taught by Layfield at the Manchester music school from her mid-teens, the court heard, leaving Chetham’s when she was 18.
But that summer she and a number of fellow pupils went to a cottage in Cornwall for a summer school organised by Layfield and his wife.
On the final day Layfield prepared a strong, alcoholic punch’, Peter Cadwallader, prosecuting, told Manchester Crown Court.
He then suggested they played the party game sardines – squeezing into confined spaces around the cottage – the court heard. Alarm bells began ringing when she realised that wherever she tended to end up, the defendant ended up, and at the same time he was plying her with whisky from a bottle that he was carrying,’ Mr Cadwallader said.
Layfield then used her befuddled’ state to persuade her to get into his car, drove her to an isolated spot and attacked her, Mr Cadwallader said.
The woman told police: There was no violence but he was using his strength. I suppose I just gave in and I’ve hated myself for that ever since.’
Mr Cadwallader said Layfield knew perfectly well’ that she was not consenting to sex, but went ahead anyway.
The following term, he said, she began studying at the Royal Northern College of Music, also in Manchester, and still taught by Layfield.
She reluctantly’ had sex with him consensually on a number of occasions, said Mr Cadwallader, adding: He had power over her progress at the college and influence over her future career within the music world.’
Layfield, of Manchester, denies one count of rape.
The trial continues.
The violinist, who denies the charge, was formerly head of strings at the Royal Northern College of Music and taught at Chetham’s
The trial of former Royal Northern College of Music head of strings Malcolm Layfield has begun at Manchester crown court. The musician is accused of raping an 18-year-old pupil when he was a violin teacher at Chetham’s School of Music in Manchester, UK.
Layfield has admitted having ‘inappropriate sexual relationships’ with several former students, including his accuser, but denies the rape – said to have happened in the back of his car at a camp in Cornwall, the summer after she left the school in the early 1980s.
The alleged victim claims Layfield, then married and in his 30s, groomed her during lifts from rehearsals. Following the initial incident, the two had a consensual relationship, but according to prosecutor David Cadwallader the accuser ‘went along’ with the affair as Layfield was ‘critical’ to the success of her career, writes the BBC.
The alleged victim wrote to the RNCM in 2001 when Layfield was promoted to head of strings urging them to reconsider his appointment. Layfield resigned from that role in 2013 after police began investigating allegations made against him as part of Operation Kiso.
The inquiry into sex abuse at Chetham’s and the RNCM began in February 2013, following the conviction of former Chetham’s head of music Michael Brewer, who was jailed for six years and stripped of his OBE. His victim was violinist Frances Andrade, who killed herself after giving evidence at his trial.
Day 2: Tuesday June 1st
Tweets from @helenpidd
The woman who accuses Chetham’s/Royal Northern teacher Malcolm Layfield of raping her when she was 18 is about to give evidence in court.
She is to give evidence behind a curtain, screened from Malcolm Layfield but visible to judge and jury.
Layfield’s QC, Ben Myers, suggests to the complainant that Layfield “took advantage” of students who wanted to impress him…
Myers says Layfield admits “inappropriate” relationships with pupils before & after that with the rape complainant. She uses term “abusive”.
Layfield’s QC accuses the complainant of “cultivating” Layfield’s interest in her, knowing he had “form” for sleeping with his students.
She denies it, saying she wasn’t dressing deliberately provocatively in black dress and fishnets the night of the alleged rape.
Complainant: “it doesn’t matter what young people sing or what they wear. It’s not an invitation to rape.” (She sang The Masochism Tango).
Malcolm Layfield’s barrister has just produced a jewellery box containing cuff links he says the complainant bought Layfield as a thank you
The complainant says she can’t remember buying the gift.
Layfield’s barrister asks the complainant if she gave me an interview, which was published in the guardian. She says she did.
A school friend of the woman who accuses Malcolm Layfield of rape says it was “the norm” for teachers to have sex with students at Chetham’s
The friend says she met Layfield at a party some years after the alleged rape and he said he still masturbated thinking of the complainant.
His wife was also at the party.
Another friend of the complainant says there was a “very strong culture” of underage drinking alcohol at Chetham’s. Layfield “encouraged” it
The friend (a man) says Layfield would tell him about having sex with other pupils and in lessons would talk about students’ big breasts.
Tweets from @clarefallon, BBC Reporter in the North:
Defence cross examine alleged victim at trial of violin teacher Malcolm Layfield. he denies raping her. He worked at Chets & RNCM
Witness under cross examination: “It doesn’t matter what young people sing or chose to wear. it’s not an invitation to rape”
She’d been asked by the defence about a cabaret performance she gave on last night of a school summer camp – when she says she was raped
She was 18 at time. Defence asking her about a performance she – and other students – gave of “the masachism tango”
Defence points out that she was wearing fishnets and a black dress. She tells court “young people can wear whatever they like”
witness says she was plied with alcohol before alleged rape “he had a bottle of whisky… he was thrusting it in our faces”
She has told court Mr Layfield would “pressure” students to go to his summer camps. “there was pressure on you to go… that’s how i saw it”
Malcolm Layfield denies rape. But says he did have inappropriate relationships with students.
asked about why she went on to have consensual sex with her tutor: “i didn’t even fancy him. i found him disgusting.”
asked why she didn’t ask to switch tutors: “u have to say why & then u’ve got a rape to deal with. I just couldn’t deal with the situation”
Defence has shown the jury cufflinks – claiming alleged victim gave them to Mr Layfield. She says it’s possible but she doesn’t remember.
witness now being re-examed by prosecution. she’s asked why she got in the car (before she says she was raped by Malcolm Layfield)
witness: “i was a bit frightened of him.
he had a side to him that could turn.”
asked about why she didn’t complain at the time – and what impact she thought complaining would have on future career…..
“I thought they wouldn’t believe me. I’d given in. You’ve got to remember that I didn’t realise I’d been raped..
I thought it was my fault.”
Another former pupil giving evidence. He also went to summer camp in Cornwall. Says Mr Layfield took them on ‘booze runs’ to buy alcohol.
witness asked about recollection of alleged victim ending up in the car with Malcolm Layfield on the night she says she was raped….
witness says: ‘malcolm would manipulate situations. we were very young and he wasn’t. he was probably organising us without us realising it’
Tweets from @amywelchitv , Correspondent for ITV Granada.
Jury in trial of music teacher Malcolm Layfield have heard evidence from alleged rape victim. She claims she was 18 when he abused her.
Defence in trial of Malcolm Layfield tells court the alleged rape victim ‘could read the signals and was ready to cultivate his interest.’
Allegedly rape victim in Layfield trial says: ‘it doesn’t matter what young people say or choose to wear…it’s not an invitation to rape.’
Alleged rape victim in trial of Malcolm Layfield tells court ‘I was frightened of him and his influence. I felt like it was my fault.’
Defence lawyer for Malcolm Layfield suggests pupil acted provocatively and slept with Chetham’s teacher willingly
A woman who has accused her violin teacher of raping her when she was 18 wanted to have sex with him, knowing he had form for starting relationships with his pupils, a court has heard.
Malcolm Layfield, 63, former head of strings at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester, denies raping the woman, whom he taught for several years at Chetham’s school of music in Manchester.
He insists he had consensual sex with her in the back of his car at a summer school he organised with his wife in Cornwall in the 1980s. He was a father in his 30s at the time.
Cross-examining the complainant at Manchester crown court on Tuesday, Layfield’s barrister suggested she cultivated a sexual relationship with him by dressing and acting provocatively and not objecting when he confided in her about an extramarital affair he was having with one of her contemporaries.
Ben Myers QC, defending, put it to her that on the night of the alleged rape she was dressed provocatively and sang a suggestive song during an end-of-course show.
She replied angrily: “It doesn’t matter what young people sing or choose to wear. It’s not an invitation to rape.” She denied Myers’ assertion that she must have known Layfield was sexually attracted to her when he started to offer her lifts and treat her as his confidante.
Myers said: “By this time this was a man who had a reputation for getting involved with female students.”
He suggested the woman slept with Layfield willingly at the summer camp and then again in Manchester during a six-week period, including once in her own bed, and continued to be taught by him for four years at college.
He said she had rewritten history only when she graduated and moved to a different city, but was still known in the music scene as “one of Malcolm’s bits-on-the-side”.
During the cross-examination, Myers produced a jewellery box containing cufflinks that Layfield claims the woman bought him as a thank-you present when he finished teaching her at college. The complainant said she could not remember buying them.
She acknowledged having given an interview to the Guardian in 2013 about the abuse she said Layfield subjected her to.
The case continues.
ITV News, June 2nd, 2015
‘Song was ‘not an invitation to rape’, Layfield jury told’
A woman who claims she was raped by her teacher at a Manchester music school has given evidence to his trial.
Malcolm Layfield, 63, is said to have used his “power and influence” to rape the then 18-year-old student in the back of his car during a trip to Cornwall in the early 1980s.
Giving evidence before the jury today, his accuser denied she willingly had sex in the vehicle with the defendant, who taught her at Chetham’s School of Music and the Royal Northern College of Music (RNCM).
Earlier on the night of the alleged rape she agreed she performed a song called The Masochism Tango, wearing a black dress and fishnet stockings, as part of a cabaret to mark the end of the excursion .
Benjamin Myers QC, representing Layfield, said to the complainant: “You put yourself centre stage in a highly sexualised song directed straight at Mr Layfield?”
The woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, replied: “Mr Layfield said I want you to do a cabaret and I want you to sing.”
She denied trying to impress him and said she could have chosen “a raunchy song” such as Hey Big Spender.
Mr Meyers read to the jury at Manchester Crown Court the opening lyrics of the Masochism Song by Tom Lehrer, which, he put to her, were “quite suggestive”.
The song goes: “I ache for the touch of your lips dear, But much more for the touch of your whips dear, You can raise welts like nobody else, As we dance to the Masochism Tango.” It continues: “At your command, before you here I stand, My heart is in my hand.
“It’s here that I must be, My heart entreats, just hear those savage beats, And go put on your cleats, And come and trample me.”
The complainant said to the barrister: “It does not matter what people sing or choose to wear, this is not an invitation to rape.”
Layfield, of Castle Quay, Castlefield, Manchester, denies rape.
BBC News, June 2nd, 2015
‘Chetham music teacher ‘raped student who sang suggestive song”
A student wearing fishnet stockings sang a “suggestive song” in front of her violin teacher who raped her while on a school trip, a court heard.
Malcolm Layfield, 63, denies raping an 18-year-old from Chetham’s School of Music in the early 1980s.
She denied she willingly had sex in his car during a trip to Cornwall at Manchester Crown Court.
On the night of the alleged rape, she agreed she performed a song as part of a cabaret to mark the end of the trip.
‘Raunchy song’
Benjamin Myers QC, representing Mr Layfield, said to the complainant: “You put yourself centre stage in a highly sexualised song directed straight at Mr Layfield?”
The woman replied: “Mr Layfield said I want you to do a cabaret and I want you to sing.”
She denied trying to impress him and said she could have chosen “a raunchy song” such as Hey Big Spender.
Mr Meyers read to the jury the opening lyrics of the song she performed – the Masochism Song by Tom Lehrer – which, he put to her, were “quite suggestive”.
The song goes: “I ache for the touch of your lips dear/But much more for the touch of your whips dear/You can raise welts like nobody else/As we dance to the Masochism Tango.”
The complainant responded: “It does not matter what people sing or choose to wear, this is not an invitation to rape.”
Mr Myers said it would not be disputed his client pursued a series of relationships with female students and it was accepted by him that this was “inappropriate”.
The victim would have known Mr Layfield had a reputation for getting involved with female students by the time of the trip, the court was told.
Mr Myers said: “You knew perfectly well he was turning his attention towards you and you were prepared to cultivate that?”
‘Extremely influential’
The woman replied: “No.”
The jury heard Mr Layfield provided “strong alcoholic punch” on the final night of the trip.
His alleged victim is said to have escaped his attentions as she got into her sleeping bag upstairs but recalled him telling her to get up.
She next remembered getting into his car “in the middle of the night” and driving to a beach, but could not recall how she got there.
Asked why she didn’t stay in bed, the complainant said: “I wish I had. Again it’s refusing something from someone who is extremely influential.”
She told the court no violence or threats were used to get her in the car but she “did not want anything sexual to happen”.
She did not make a complaint at the time because she convinced herself it was an affair and later went on to have consensual sex with him over a six-week period, it was said.
Mr Layfield, of Castle Quay, Castlefield, also taught at Manchester’s Royal Northern College of Music (RNCM).
The trial continues.
Lancashire Evening Post, June 2nd, 2015
‘Song ‘not an invitation to rape”
Wearing fishnet stockings while singing a “suggestive song” in front of her violin teacher, who is from Manchester, was not “an invitation to rape”, a sex abuse complainant has told a jury.
Malcolm Layfield, 63, of Castle Quay, Castlefield, is said to have used his “power and influence” to rape the then 18-year-old student in the back of his car during a trip to Cornwall in the early 1980s.
Giving evidence, his accuser denied she willingly had sex in the vehicle with the defendant, who taught her at Chetham’s School of Music and the Royal Northern College of Music (RNCM), both in Manchester.
Earlier on the night of the alleged rape she agreed she performed a song called The Masochism Tango, wearing a black dress and fishnet stockings, as part of a cabaret to mark the end of the excursion.
Benjamin Myers QC, representing Layfield, said to the complainant: “You put yourself centre stage in a highly sexualised song directed straight at Mr Layfield?”
The woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, replied: “Mr Layfield said I want you to do a cabaret and I want you to sing.”
She denied trying to impress him and said she could have chosen “a raunchy song” such as Hey Big Spender.
Mr Meyers read to the jury at Manchester Crown Court the opening lyrics of the Masochism Song by Tom Lehrer, which, he put to her, were “quite suggestive”.
The song goes: “I ache for the touch of your lips dear, But much more for the touch of your whips dear, You can raise welts like nobody else, As we dance to the Masochism Tango.” It continues: “At your command, before you here I stand, My heart is in my hand.
“It’s here that I must be, My heart entreats, just hear those savage beats, And go put on your cleats, And come and trample me.”
The complainant said to the barrister: “It does not matter what people sing or choose to wear, this is not an invitation to rape.”
Layfield denies rape.
Press Association, June 2nd, 2015
Kim Pelling, ‘Song ‘Not an Invitation to Rape”
Wearing fishnet stockings while singing a “suggestive song” in front of her violin teacher was not “an invitation to rape”, a sex abuse complainant has told a jury.
Malcolm Layfield, 63, is said to have used his “power and influence” to rape the then 18-year-old student in the back of his car during a trip to Cornwall in the early 1980s.
Giving evidence today, his accuser denied she willingly had sex in the vehicle with the defendant, who taught her at Chetham’s School of Music and the Royal Northern College of Music (RNCM), both in Manchester.
Earlier on the night of the alleged rape she agreed she performed a song called The Masochism Tango, wearing a black dress and fishnet stockings, as part of a cabaret to mark the end of the excursion .
Benjamin Myers QC, representing Layfield, said to the complainant: “You put yourself centre stage in a highly sexualised song directed straight at Mr Layfield?”
The woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, replied: “Mr Layfield said I want you to do a cabaret and I want you to sing.”
She denied trying to impress him and said she could have chosen “a raunchy song” such as Hey Big Spender.
Mr Meyers read to the jury at Manchester Crown Court the opening lyrics of the Masochism Song by Tom Lehrer, which, he put to her, were “quite suggestive”.
The song goes: “I ache for the touch of your lips dear, But much more for the touch of your whips dear, You can raise welts like nobody else, As we dance to the Masochism Tango.” It continues: “At your command, before you here I stand, My heart is in my hand.
“It’s here that I must be, My heart entreats, just hear those savage beats, And go put on your cleats, And come and trample me.”
The complainant said to the barrister: “It does not matter what people sing or choose to wear, this is not an invitation to rape.”
Layfield, of Castle Quay, Castlefield, Manchester, denies rape.
Malcolm Layfield, 63, accused of using his ‘power and influence’ to rape the then student while a teacher at the renowned music school. He denies the charge
A woman who claims she was raped by her violin teacher as a teenager sang a song for him while wearing fishnet stockings – but insists it was not ‘an invitation to rape’, a court has heard.
Malcolm Layfield, 63, of Castle Quay, Castlefield, is said to have used his ‘power and influence’ to rape the then student in the back of his car during a trip to Cornwall in the early 1980s.
Giving evidence, his accuser denied she willingly had sex in the vehicle with the defendant, who taught her at Chetham’s School of Music and the Royal Northern College of Music, both in Manchester.
Earlier on the night of the alleged rape she agreed she performed a song called The Masochism Tango, wearing a black dress and fishnet stockings, as part of a cabaret to mark the end of the excursion.
Benjamin Myers QC, representing the music teacher, said to the complainant: “You put yourself centre stage in a highly sexualised song directed straight at Mr Layfield?”
The woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, replied: “Mr Layfield said I want you to do a cabaret and I want you to sing.”
She denied trying to impress him and said she could have chosen ‘a raunchy song’ such as Hey Big Spender.
But the complainant replied: “It does not matter what people sing or choose to wear, this is not an invitation to rape.”
Jury members were also told that the woman was referred to as ‘one of Malcolm’s bits on the side’ after leaving Manchester.
The barrister said: “The reality is that as an 18-year-old woman you were content to get into that car, have sex and you are full of regret and anger now for what you chose to do.”
She replied: “No, that is not the case.
Mr Myers told the jury that in 2001 a ‘large number of people’ had complained that Layfield was unsuitable for his newly appointed-post as head of strings at RNCM because of his relationships with female students.
Extensive media coverage followed at the time which was ‘hostile’ to Layfield, with personal attacks on him and his family life, he said.
He said the complaints were brought to the attention of the police at the time but no prosecution followed.
Mr Layfield, who has yet to give evidence in the trial, denies rape.
Proceeding
Woman accusing Malcolm Layfield of abusing her when she was 18 denies defence suggestion that she cultivated sexual relationship with tutor
Dressing and singing provocatively is “not an invitation to rape”, a woman has told a jury, after accusing her violin teacher of abusing her when she was 18.
Malcolm Layfield, 63, the former head of strings at the Royal Northern College of Music, denies raping the woman, whom he taught for several years at Chetham’s school of music in Manchester.
He insists he had consensual sex with her in the back of his car at a summer school he organised with his wife in Cornwall in the 1980s. He was a father in his 30s at the time.
Cross-examining the complainant at Manchester crown court on Tuesday, Layfield’s barrister suggested she had cultivated a sexual relationship with him by dressing and acting provocatively and not objecting when he confided in her about an extramarital affair he was having with one of her contemporaries.
Ben Myers QC, defending, put it to her that on the night of the alleged rape she wore a provocative outfit and sang a suggestive song during an end-of-course show.
She replied angrily: “It doesn’t matter what young people sing or choose to wear. It’s not an invitation to rape.” She denied Myers’ assertion that she must have known Layfield was sexually attracted to her when he started to offer her lifts and treat her as his confidante.
Myers said: “By this time this was a man who had a reputation for getting involved with female students.” Layfield had “form”, he added.
He suggested the woman had slept with Layfield willingly at the summer camp and then again in Manchester during a six-week period, including once in her own bed, and continued to be taught by him for four years at college.
He said she had rewritten history only when she graduated and moved to a different city, but was still known in the music scene as “one of Malcolm’s bits on the side”.
During the cross-examination, Myers produced a jewellery box containing cufflinks that Layfield claims the woman bought him as a thank-you present when he finished teaching her at college. The complainant said she could not remember buying them.
She acknowledged having given an interview to the Guardian in 2013 about the abuse she said Layfield had subjected her to.
Two of the woman’s schoolfriends also gave evidence on Tuesday. One, who has remained close to the complainant, recalled attending a party at Layfield’s house several years after the alleged rape. She told the jury he said then that he still masturbated at the thought of the complainant.
The woman said that at the time of the rape it was the norm for teachers and students at Chetham’s to have sex.
The other friend, a man, said Layfield would talk openly at Chetham’s about his sexual relations with female students. During lessons he would discuss their relative attractiveness and who had big breasts, he told the jury.
The case continues.
SINGING a “suggestive song” in front of a violin teacher while wearing fishnet stockings was not “an invitation to rape”, a court heard.
Music teacher Malcolm Layfield, 63, is said to have used his “power and influence” to rape a teenage student in the back of his car during a school trip to Cornwall in the early 1980s.
Layfield, from Castlefield, Manchester, taught his alleged victim – then 18 – at the city’s Chetham’s School of Music and the Royal Northern College of Music. He denies the rape charge.
But, giving evidence at Manchester Crown Court, his accuser rejected claims she willingly had sex with him in the vehicle.
A jury heard how earlier on the night of the alleged attack she performed a song called The Masochism Tango, wearing a black dress and fishnet stockings, as part of a cabaret to mark the end of the trip.
It does not matter what people sing or choose to wear, this is not an invitation to rape
Alleged rape victim
Benjamin Myers QC, representing Layfield, asked the complainant: “You put yourself centre stage in a highly sexualised song directed straight at Mr Layfield?”
The woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, replied: “Mr Layfield said I want you to do a cabaret and I want you to sing.”
She denied trying to impress him and said she could have chosen “a raunchy song” such as Hey Big Spender.
Mr Meyers read out the opening lyrics of the Masochism Song by Tom Lehrer, which, he put to her, were “quite suggestive”.
The song includes the lines: “I ache for the touch of your lips dear, But much more for the touch of your whips dear, You can raise welts like nobody else, As we dance to the Masochism Tango.”
It continues: “At your command, before you here I stand, My heart is in my hand.”
The woman told the barrister: “It does not matter what people sing or choose to wear, this is not an invitation to rape.”
Mr Myers said it would not be disputed that his client pursued “inappropriate” relationships with female students.
The witness, giving evidence from behind a curtain, replied: “Abuse, abusive relationships.”
Mr Myers said that by the time of the Cornwall trip she would have known Layfield’s reputation and that he was developing an interest in her.
He said: “You knew perfectly well he was turning his attention towards you and you were prepared to cultivate that?”
The woman replied: “No.”
The jury has heard that Layfield provided “strong alcoholic punch” on the final night of the course staged by himself and his wife.
He is alleged to have persuaded the woman out of bed and driven her to a beach
But Mr Myers said the fact she kept on her cabaret outfit meant she did not intend to stay in bed.
He said: “Looking back, you feel you were taken advantage of?”
The woman said: “I did not want anything sexual to happen.”
She said she did not complain at the time because she convinced herself it was an affair and later went on to have consensual sex with him over a six-week period.
She said: “I twisted it in my mind to protect him, his wife. I ended up fooling myself.
She said her hatred for Layfield built up at the RNCM but she did not ask for another tutor because he had threatened to take work away from her.
The case continues.
The Daily Telegraph, June 2nd, 2015
‘Music school teacher ‘plied student with drink and raped her”
A VIOLIN teacher improperly used his power and influence to rape an 18-year-old female student, a jury has heard.
Malcolm Layfield, 63, is said to have committed the offence in the back of his car during a trip to Cornwall after he plied his alleged victim with alcohol.
Jurors at Manchester Crown Court were told it was a case about “abuse of power” in the early 1980s by the defendant who worked at the “world renowned” Chetham’s School of Music and the Royal Northern College of Music, both in the city.
Peter Cadwallader, prosecuting, said: “He was a fine teacher with power and influence. He taught highly gifted students, many of whom had ambitions to go with their talent. It is alleged, in short, that he used his power and influence improperly.” Mr Cadwallader told the jury the pair did have a consensual sexual relationship which lasted for about six weeks but that the first occasion they had sex was rape.
Layfield, of Castle Quay, Castlefield, Manchester, denies rape. The case continues.
Daily Mail, June 2nd, 2015
James Tozer, ‘Violin Teacher got Pupil, 18, Drunk before Raping Her’
A LEADING violin teacher plied a teenage pupil with whisky during an alcohol-fuelled game of sardines then forced her to have sex with him in the back of his car, a jury heard yesterday.
Malcolm Layfield, 63, abused his power as a tutor at the renowned Chetham’s School of Music to rape the 18-year-old, knowing his ability to influence her career prospects would ensure she did not speak out, it was claimed.
She only came forward two decades later in protest at his appointment as head of strings at the Royal Northern College of Music, but did not want to go to court.
More than ten years on, however, she changed her mind, and the teacher went on trial yesterday accused of attacking her in the early 1980s.
Layfield admits having inappropriate’ relationships with a number of students, the jury was told, but insists his six-week affair with his accuser was consensual throughout. The promising young violinist had been taught by Layfield at the Manchester music school from her mid-teens, the court heard, leaving Chetham’s when she was 18.
But that summer she and a number of fellow pupils went to a cottage in Cornwall for a summer school organised by Layfield and his wife.
On the final day Layfield prepared a strong, alcoholic punch’, Peter Cadwallader, prosecuting, told Manchester Crown Court.
He then suggested they played the party game sardines – squeezing into confined spaces around the cottage – the court heard. Alarm bells began ringing when she realised that wherever she tended to end up, the defendant ended up, and at the same time he was plying her with whisky from a bottle that he was carrying,’ Mr Cadwallader said.
Layfield then used her befuddled’ state to persuade her to get into his car, drove her to an isolated spot and attacked her, Mr Cadwallader said.
The woman told police: There was no violence but he was using his strength. I suppose I just gave in and I’ve hated myself for that ever since.’
Mr Cadwallader said Layfield knew perfectly well’ that she was not consenting to sex, but went ahead anyway.
The following term, he said, she began studying at the Royal Northern College of Music, also in Manchester, and still taught by Layfield.
She reluctantly’ had sex with him consensually on a number of occasions, said Mr Cadwallader, adding: He had power over her progress at the college and influence over her future career within the music world.’
Layfield, of Manchester, denies one count of rape.
The trial continues.
Day 3: Wednesday June 3rd, 2015
Tweets from @helenpidd
Martin Roscoe, former head of keyboards at the Royal Northern College of Music, has just given prosecution evidence re Malcolm Layfield.
Roscoe told the jury how in 2001 he met the woman who accuses Layfield of rape, and she told him about what happened.
Malcolm Layfield is giving evidence. He says he split up from his wife in Feb 2013 when press articles surfaced about his sexual behaviour.
Layfield says he “fancied” the woman who accuses him of raping her when she was 18; says he felt she was flirting with him beforehand.
Layfield: “I still feel incredibly bad about it. I’m remorseful and regretful about what happened in these relationships…
… “The thought that this might have affected people’s lives is one that I will always carry.” Says he’s tried to “make amends” since.
Layfield says the youngest student he had a “relationship” with in the 1980s was 17. “All of the others were over 18.”
Tweets from @mrdaveguest
Music teacher accused of raping student says he had sex with her consent with her consent.
Malcolm Layfield, former head of strings at RNCM denies raping her in the early 80s when she was 18.
In statement to police Mr Layfield said he and the student had sexual relationship for several months and remained friends when it ended.
Mr Layfield says the student he’s accused of raping gave him cuff links as a present when she graduated from RNCM.
Malcolm Layfield tells court he had sexual relationships with a number of students.
Mr Layfield admits they were inappropriate relationships and he feels remorseful but says all were with overage students.
Layfield: “I look back and feel terrible about it.”
Malcolm Layfield tells court student he’s accused of raping willingly had sex in his car. “I didn’t think I was doing anything wrong”
Former music teacher Malcolm Layfield tells court about affairs with students in the 1980s and says: “I am remorseful” but he denies rape.
BBC News, June 3rd, 2015
Dave Guest, ‘Chetham’s teacher accused of rape ‘says sex was consensual”
A music teacher accused of raping one of his students has admitted in court they had sex but said it was always consensual.
Malcolm Layfield, 63, raped the 18-year-old pupil at Manchester’s Chetham’s School of Music in the early 1980s, Manchester Crown Court heard.
Mr Layfield, of Castle Quay, Castlefield, denies a charge of rape.
He told the court he had affairs with a number of students in the 1980s but saw nothing wrong with it at the time.
But, he told the jury that looking back he now feels “terrible about it”.
‘Got her drunk’
“I am remorseful and regretful about what happened with these relationships,” he said.
It is alleged Mr Layfield raped his pupil in his car after getting her drunk during a music summer school, in the weeks after she left Chetham’s.
The defendant agreed they had had sex but insisted it was with her full consent, the court heard.
They had gone on to have a sexual relationship, which lasted for several weeks after she started studying at the Royal Northern College of Music, where he was her tutor.
The jury heard she bought him a set of antique cufflinks as a thankyou present when she graduated from the college.
The trial continues.
A violin teacher has told a jury he was “regretful” about a string of sexual relationships with female students in his care but insisted he was not a rapist.
Malcolm Layfield, 63, is said to have used his “power and influence” to sexually assault an 18-year-old student in the back of his car during a residential music course in Cornwall in the early 1980s.
Manchester Crown Court has heard that Layfield pursued a number of relationships with students, the youngest being 17, throughout the decade.
Giving evidence in his defence, Layfield said he did not rape one of them who he taught at Chetham’s School of Music and the Royal Northern College of Music (RNCM), both in Manchester.
He claims the sex in his car on the Cornish trip was consensual.
Layfield told his barrister, Benjamin Myers QC, that the relationships were “highly inappropriate”.
Asked why, he replied: “Because the student/teacher relationship should not cross that area, and looking back I feel remorseful and very regretful about them. They should not have happened.”
Mr Myers asked: “How long did these relationships last?”
The defendant said: “Well I had a number and they lasted over different lengths of time.
“I was not brazen about them. I suppose I didn’t try to actively hide they were happening.”
He went on: “I feel still incredibly bad about it, I am remorseful and regretful about what happened. The thought that this may have affected people’s lives is one I will always carry.”
Layfield added he had since sought to “make amends” by helping in any way he could.
He later agreed with prosecutor Peter Cadwallader that his behaviour towards students in the 1980s was “shameful”.
Layfield, of Castle Quay, Castlefield, Manchester, denies one count of rape.
Press Association, June 3rd, 2015
Kim Pilling, ‘Teacher ‘regrets’ sex with students’
A violin teacher from Manchester has told a jury he was “regretful” about a string of sexual relationships with female students in his care but insisted he was not a rapist.
Malcolm Layfield, 63, is said to have used his “power and influence” to sexually assault an 18-year-old student in the back of his car during a residential music course in Cornwall in the early 1980s.
Manchester Crown Court has heard that Layfield pursued a number of relationships with students, the youngest being 17, throughout the decade
Layfield, of Castle Quay, Castlefield, denies one count of rape.
Giving evidence in his defence, Layfield said he did not rape one of them who he taught at Chetham’s School of Music and the Royal Northern College of Music (RNCM), both in Manchester.
He claims the sex in his car on the Cornish trip was consensual.
Layfield told his barrister, Benjamin Myers QC, that the relationships were “highly inappropriate”.
Asked why, he replied: “Because the student/teacher relationship should not cross that area, and looking back I feel remorseful and very regretful about them. They should not have happened.”
Mr Myers asked: “How long did these relationships last?”
The defendant said: “Well I had a number and they lasted over different lengths of time.
“I was not brazen about them. I suppose I didn’t try to actively hide they were happening.”
He went on: “I feel still incredibly bad about it, I am remorseful and regretful about what happened. The thought that this may have affected people’s lives is one I will always carry.”
Layfield added he had since sought to “make amends” by helping in any way he could.
He later agreed with prosecutor Peter Cadwallader that his behaviour towards students in the 1980s was “shameful”.
Layfield, of Castle Quay, Castlefield, Manchester, denies one count of rape.
It is said Layfield drove his victim – allegedly drunk on “strong alcoholic punch” made by the defendant – in the middle of the night to an isolated spot and was determined to have sex with her “come what may”.
The complainant says she “gave in” but then went on to have consensual sex with him over the following six weeks as she continued her studies at the RNCM.
She alleges she was under his “influence and power” as Layfield threatened to take work opportunities away from her if she changed tutors.
Layfield, a former principal lead violin of the Manchester Camerata who also formed his own chamber ensemble, told the jury that he was not in a position to “destroy people’s careers” and neither did he encourage students to get drunk.
On the night of the alleged rape, he said the complainant performed a song in an end-of-course cabaret which he found “suggestive” and had a “flirtatious element to it”.
He told the court: “I did think she was giving off vibes and there was a spark between us.”
The complainant went to bed but he asked a male student to get her up and she came down “perfectly willingly”, he said.
He asked her if she wanted to go for a drive and she agreed, said the defendant.
His barrister asked: “Any idea where this was leading to?”
Layfield replied: “No, not to sex. But I did fancy her and I liked the idea of being in a car with her on our own.
“We sat and talked and then I said to her do you want to get in the back of the car and she said ‘OK, I will’.”
Mr Myers asked: “Did you feel you were doing anything wrong?”
The defendant said: “I was honestly not thinking I was doing anything wrong at the time.
“We started kissing and one thing led to another and we ended up having sex.”
Mr Myers said: “After the sex, what happened?”
He replied: “We sat in the car for a while. We may have dozed off, we stayed the whole evening.
“At one point we got out of the car and watched the sunset come up.”
He said their relationship eventually “petered out” but ended amicably and he said she even presented him with a set of antique gold cufflinks when she left the RNCM.
In cross-examination, Mr Cadwallader asked the defendant: “In relation to the other students you had sexual relationships with, do you think you were doing anything wrong with them back in the 1980s?”
Layfield said: “I acted improperly and I was aware it was improper to act in that way.”
The prosecutor said: “So you knew it was wrong?”
Layfield replied: “Yes. My conduct was disgraceful at that time.
“I thought at the time it was not good but I actually went ahead and did it anyway.”
He agreed he was an “excellent and popular” teacher who was teaching “ambitious and precocious” students, and he was responsible for their safety and welfare.
Mr Cadwallader asked him: “Do you agree that you liked to be the centre of attention?”
Layfield said: “I would not describe it like that but perhaps other people would.”
The prosecutor said: “Did you like to control your students?”
“No, I do not accept that all,” Layfield said.
He denied that sex was his sole interest in the complainant.
He said: “I was quite fond of her so I refuse to debase it to that.”
Layfield also denied openly talking about the physical attributes of female pupils “behind their back” while at the college.
Mr Cadwallader said: “That was your attitude to women. Complete lack of respect.”
The defendant said: “No.”
The prosecutor said: “You saw them as sexual opportunities, you agree with that?”
Layfield said: “No. That is not how these relationships happened.”
Mr Cadwallader said: “Whenever these opportunities arose you took advantage.”
Layfield said: “They were relationships that developed with students, inappropriately.”
The prosecutor continued: “On this night in Cornwall, you crossed the line from taking advantage into rape.”
The defendant replied: “No.”
Mr Cadwallader said: “You were totally indifferent about the wishes of (the complainant), is that correct?”
Layfield said: “That is not correct.”
The prosecutor said: “You could not care less whether she was agreeing or not.”
Layfield said: “I do not accept that at all.”
Mr Cadwallader said: “She just gave in.”
Layfield said: “It was not a question of her giving in. It was a mutual thing that was happening.”
Mr Cadwallader said: “I suggest you could not care less about her feelings. You got her in the car and you used her for sex. If she agreed, good. If not, so what?
Layfield, who no longer works for Chetham’s or the RCNM, denied that was the case.
The trial continues tomorrow.
Manchester Evening News, June 3rd, 2015
Kim Pilling, ‘Cabaret Show ‘was not an invitation to rape’; Alleged victim quizzed about song performance at trial of Chetham’s and RNCM music teacher’
A woman who claims she was raped by her violin teacher as a teenager sang a song for him while wearing fishnet stockings – but insists it was not ‘an invitation to rape’, a court has heard.
Malcolm Layfield, 63, of Castle Quay, Castlefield, is said to have used his ‘power and influence’ to rape the then student in the back of his car during a trip to Cornwall in the early 1980s, Manchester Crown Court was told.
Giving evidence, his accuser denied she willingly had sex in the vehicle with the defendant, who taught her at Chetham’s School of Music and the Royal Northern College of Music, both in Manchester. Earlier on the night of the alleged rape, she agreed she performed a song called The Masochism Tango, wearing a black dress and fishnet stockings, as part of a cabaret to mark the end of the excursion.
Benjamin Myers QC, representing the music teacher, said to the complainant: “You put yourself centre stage in a highly sexualised song directed straight at Mr Layfield?” The woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, replied: “Mr Lay-field said I want you to do a cabaret and I want you to sing.”
She denied trying to impress him and said she could have chosen ‘a raunchy song’ such as Hey Big Spender. The woman added: “It does not matter what people sing or choose to wear, this is not an invitation to rape.”
Jury members were also told that the woman was referred to as ‘one of Malcolm’s bits on the side’ after leaving Manchester.
Mr Myers said: “The reality is that as an 18-yearold woman you were content to get into that car, have sex and you are full of regret and anger now for what you chose to do.”
She replied: “No, that is not the case.”
Mr Myers told the jury that in 2001 a ‘large number of people’ had complained that Mr Layfield was unsuitable for his newly-appointed post as head of strings at RNCM because of his relationships with female students. Extensive media coverage followed at the time which was ‘hostile’ to Mr Layfield, with personal attacks on him and his family life, he said. He said the complaints were brought to the attention of the police at the time but no prosecution followed. Mr Layfield, who has yet to give evidence in the trial, denies rape.
Proceeding »
ITV News, June 3rd, 2015
‘Violin teacher got girl drunk on ‘strong’ punch before rape – court told’
It is said violin teacher Malcolm Layfield drove his victim – allegedly drunk on “strong alcoholic punch” made by the defendant – in the middle of the night to an isolated spot and was determined to have sex with her “come what may”.
The complainant says she “gave in” but then went on to have consensual sex with him over the following six weeks as she continued her studies at the RNCM.
She alleges she was under his “influence and power” as Layfield threatened to take work opportunities away from her if she changed tutors.
Layfield, a former principal lead violin of the Manchester Camerata who also formed his own chamber ensemble, told the jury that he was not in a position to “destroy people’s careers” and neither did he encourage students to get drunk.
‘Teacher didn’t think he was ‘doing anything wrong’ by having sex with teenage pupil’
On the night of the alleged rape, Layfield said the complainant performed a song in an end-of-course cabaret which he found “suggestive” and had a “flirtatious element to it”.
He told the court: “I did think she was giving off vibes and there was a spark between us.”
The complainant went to bed but he asked a male student to get her up and she came down “perfectly willingly”, he said.
He asked her if she wanted to go for a drive and she agreed, said the defendant.
His barrister asked: “Any idea where this was leading to?”
Layfield replied: “No, not to sex. But I did fancy her and I liked the idea of being in a car with her on our own.
“We sat and talked and then I said to her do you want to get in the back of the car and she said ‘OK, I will’.”
Mr Myers asked: “Did you feel you were doing anything wrong?”
The defendant said: “I was honestly not thinking I was doing anything wrong at the time.
“We started kissing and one thing led to another and we ended up having sex.”
Mr Myers said: “After the sex, what happened?”
He replied: “We sat in the car for a while. We may have dozed off, we stayed the whole evening.
“At one point we got out of the car and watched the sunset come up.”
He said their relationship eventually “petered out” but ended amicably and he said she even presented him with a set of antique gold cufflinks when she left the RNCM.
Malcolm Layfield says his behaviour towards students in 1980s was ‘shameful’ but insists he did not rape the student after teaching her at Chetham’s school
A violin teacher accused of raping a student from a top music school said he regretted having sex with her and other pupils, saying he now viewed his behaviour as highly inappropriate.
But Malcolm Layfield, former head of strings at the Royal Northern College of Music, insists he did not rape the student, then 18, after teaching her at Chetham’s school of music in Manchester.
The 63-year-old is said to have used his “power and influence” to sexually assault her in the back of his car during a residential music course in Cornwall in the early 1980s.
Giving evidence in his defence at Manchester crown court on Wednesday, Layfield said the sex on the Cornish trip was consensual.
He told the jury that the complainant had been “giving off vibes” to suggest she found him attractive, talking of “sparks” and “sexual chemistry” between them. He said they had a short but exciting relationship following the Cornish encounter. “I suppose I was flattered, being an older man having someone like that for a lover. But the inappropriateness did not strike me then.”
The complainant had previously told the court she found Layfield “disgusting” and never fancied him, despite having a sexual relationship with him for six weeks after the alleged rape.
She said he abused his power to have sex with her and stopped her getting professional work as a musician when their relationship fizzled out. He denied this claim, saying she did not get more work in a particular ensemble because the other players in the group felt she was “not up to it”.
Layfield also denied her claim to have plied her with whiskey during a game of the game sardines, which she said preceded the alleged rape. By his account, they played sardines on a different night.
The jury has heard that Layfield pursued a number of relationships with students, the youngest being 17, throughout the 1980s. Layfield told his barrister, Benjamin Myers QC, that he now viewed the relationships as highly inappropriate.
Asked why, he replied: “Because the student-teacher relationship should not cross that area, and looking back I feel remorseful and very regretful about them. They should not have happened.”
He added: “I feel still incredibly bad about it. I am remorseful and regretful about what happened. The thought that this may have affected people’s lives is one I will always carry and what I have tried to do since then is to make amends as much as I can.”
He later agreed with prosecutor Peter Cadwallader that his behaviour towards students in the 1980s was “shameful”. He also said he regretted lying to his wife, who was up making breakfast for their young children when he returned at around 6.30am after having sex with the complainant in the car at a nearby beach.
The jury heard that the couple divorced last year. They separated in February 2013 after the Guardian published claims about his sexual behaviour with the complainant, Layfield said.
The case continues.
Day 4: Thursday, June 4th, 2015
A violin teacher accused of sexually assaulting a teenager in the South West has told a jury he was “regretful” about a string of sexual relationships with female students in his care but insisted he was not a rapist.
Malcolm Layfield, 63, is said to have used his “power and influence” to sexually assault an 18-year-old student in the back of his car during a residential music course in Cornwall in the early 1980s.
Manchester Crown Court has heard that Layfield pursued a number of relationships with students, the youngest being 17, throughout the decade
Giving evidence in his defence, Layfield said he did not rape one of them who he taught at Chetham’s School of Music and the Royal Northern College of Music (RNCM), both in Manchester.
He claims the sex in his car on the Cornish trip was consensual.
Layfield told his barrister, Benjamin Myers QC, that the relationships were “highly inappropriate”.
Asked why, he replied: “Because the student/teacher relationship should not cross that area, and looking back I feel remorseful and very regretful about them. They should not have happened.”
Mr Myers asked: “How long did these relationships last?”
The defendant said: “Well I had a number and they lasted over different lengths of time. I was not brazen about them. I suppose I didn’t try to actively hide they were happening.”
He went on: “I feel still incredibly bad about it, I am remorseful and regretful about what happened. The thought that this may have affected people’s lives is one I will always carry.”
Layfield added he had since sought to “make amends” by helping in any way he could. He later agreed with prosecutor Peter Cadwallader that his behaviour towards students in the 1980s was “shameful”.
Layfield, of Castle Quay, Castlefield, Manchester, denies one count of rape.
It is said Layfield drove his victim – allegedly drunk on “strong alcoholic punch” made by the defendant – in the middle of the night to an isolated spot and was determined to have sex with her “come what may”.
The complainant says she “gave in” but then went on to have consensual sex with him over the following six weeks as she continued her studies at the RNCM.
She alleges she was under his “influence and power” as Layfield threatened to take work opportunities away from her if she changed tutors.
Layfield, a former principal lead violin of the Manchester Camerata who also formed his own chamber ensemble, told the jury that he was not in a position to “destroy people’s careers” and neither did he encourage students to get drunk.
On the night of the alleged rape, he said the complainant performed a song in an end-of-course cabaret which he found “suggestive” and had a “flirtatious element to it”.
He told the court: “I did think she was giving off vibes and there was a spark between us.”
The complainant went to bed but he asked a male student to get her up and she came down “perfectly willingly”, he said. He asked her if she wanted to go for a drive and she agreed, said the defendant.
His barrister asked: “Any idea where this was leading to?”
Layfield replied: “No, not to sex. But I did fancy her and I liked the idea of being in a car with her on our own. We sat and talked and then I said to her do you want to get in the back of the car and she said ‘OK, I will’.”
Mr Myers asked: “Did you feel you were doing anything wrong?”
The defendant said: “I was honestly not thinking I was doing anything wrong at the time. We started kissing and one thing led to another and we ended up having sex.”
Mr Myers said: “After the sex, what happened?”
He replied: “We sat in the car for a while. We may have dozed off, we stayed the whole evening. At one point we got out of the car and watched the sunset come up.”
He said their relationship eventually “petered out” but ended amicably and he said she even presented him with a set of antique gold cufflinks when she left the RNCM.
In cross-examination, Mr Cadwallader asked the defendant: “In relation to the other students you had sexual relationships with, do you think you were doing anything wrong with them back in the 1980s?”
Layfield said: “I acted improperly and I was aware it was improper to act in that way.”
The prosecutor said: “So you knew it was wrong?”
Layfield replied: “Yes. My conduct was disgraceful at that time. I thought at the time it was not good but I actually went ahead and did it anyway.”
The trial continues.
Barrister for Malcolm Layfield, who taught at Chetham’s in Manchester, urges jury to distinguish between morally wrong and criminal behaviour
Having inappropriate sexual relationships with students does not make a teacher a rapist, a jury hearing a case against a violin tutor has heard.
Malcolm Layfield, 63, has admitted behaving “shamefully” by having sex with students from Chetham’s school of music and the Royal Northern College of Music (RNCM). But he denies raping one of them in the back of his car on a summer course in Cornwall in the 1980s, when she was 18 and he was a married father-of-two in his 30s.
Ben Myers QC, defending Layfield, told the jury at Manchester crown court that it had been “open season” on his client ever since a campaign in 2001 tried to prevent him becoming head of strings at the RNCM.
The complainant was among a large number of people who wrote to the college to urge them not to appoint Layfield to the prestigious position, the court had heard.
Addressing the jury in his closing speech, Myers suggested the complainant had brought the case out of regret at becoming known as a “bit-on-the-side” for Layfield, who had a reputation for affairs with students in Manchester.
The woman had previously told the court she had a six-week consensual relationship with Layfield after the alleged rape because she felt she “had to”. But she accused him of threatening to sabotage her career as a musician if she did not submit to his wishes – a claim he has firmly denied, saying he had negligible influence on the careers of his pupils.
“We cannot convict a man of rape because a woman has come to bitterly regret her actions when she was 18,” said Myers.
The barrister urged the jury to distinguish between what was morally wrong and what was criminal. “There is a difference between wrong and unlawful, between wrong and rape. It doesn’t follow that one proves the other,” he said, accusing the prosecution of using a “good dollop of prejudice” as “Polyfilla” to mask holes in their case.
In his closing speech, Peter Cadwallader, prosecuting, said Layfield had an “unpleasant, even frightening, dark side.”
He said Layfield treated his female students as “little more than sex objects”, recalling how one witness claimed Layfield told her years after the alleged rape that he still masturbated at the thought of the complainant’s nipples. Another former student alleged that Layfield would openly discuss the breast sizes of his female charges.
In his speech, Myers suggested Layfield’s female students perhaps also viewed him as merely a “sex object”.
During the trial Layfield testified that he thought the complainant had flirted with him by performing a risque cabaret song with her classmates on the night of the alleged rape, recalling that she was dressed in fishnet tights and a black dress. This, Cadwallader told the jury, came uncomfortably close to the “old idea that a woman wearing a short skirt is asking for it”.
The truth, said Cadwallader, is that Layfield behaved recklessly by having sex with the woman whether she wanted to or not. Warning the jury that “submission is not consent” he said of Layfield: “In colloquial terms, he couldn’t care less. He was indifferent to her attitude towards it. And that, the crown says, is rape.”
Before the barristers delivered their closing speeches, the defence called their final witnesses.
Louise Jones, who studied violin at Chetham’s and the RNCM with Layfield, described him as a “great inspiration”. She said the Cornwall summer schools were a “real highlight” of her time studying music. Asked whether Layfield had ever behaved inappropriately to her, she said no, and recalled once babysitting for Layfield’s son and staying the night at their house.
Amanda Milne, a former cellist who performed in orchestras and ensembles directed by Layfield at Chetham’s and the RNCM, described him as “generous and an extremely good teacher”.
A character reference from Dr Colin Beeson, former vice principal of the RNCM, was read to the jury. Beeson said Layfield had been one of the most effective department heads at the college and was an “inspirational leader” who helped him when he was going through a divorce.
The judge is due to sum up the case on Monday.
The court did not sit on Friday June 5th.
Day 5: Monday June 8th, 2015
Tweets from @helenpidd
Malcolm Layfield has been found not guilty of rape. More details to follow.
The jury hearing the rape case against Malcolm Layfield only retired to consider their verdict at 12.48 today. Very quick.
Press Association, June 8th, 2015
Layfield’s son and daughter burst into tears in the public gallery as the verdict was returned.
It was said Layfield drove his victim – allegedly drunk on “strong alcoholic punch” made by the defendant – in the middle of the night to an isolated spot and was determined to have sex with her “come what may”.
The complainant, who he taught at Chetham’s and the RNCM claimed she “gave in” but then went on to have consensual sex with him over the following six weeks.
She alleged she was under his “influence and power” as Layfield threatened to take work opportunities away from her if she changed tutors, Manchester Crown Court heard
Father-of-two Layfield, of Castle Quay, Castleford, Manchester, told the jury he was not in a position to “destroy people’s careers” and neither did he encourage students to get drunk.
He said she willingly got into his car and that sex followed between the pair which was “a mutual thing that happened”.
The pair went on to have a sexual relationship, he said, before it later “fizzled out”.
Following the verdict, Layfield’s solicitor Matthew Claughton, from Olliers Solicitors, said: “Today’s unanimous verdict comes as a huge relief to Malcolm Layfield who would like to thank friends, family and his legal team and all those who have supported him over the last two years.”
Daily Mail, June 8th, 2015
Press Association, ‘Violin teacher cleared of rape’
A violin teacher has been cleared of raping an 18-year-old female student in the early 1980s.
Malcolm Layfield, 63, had denied the Crown’s allegation that he used his “power and influence” to commit the offence against the teenager in the back of his car.
The defendant admitted he pursued a number of consensual sexual relationships with students throughout the 1980s which his trial heard were said to be “common knowledge” in classical musical circles in Manchester and further afield.
But the former part-time tutor at Chetham’s School of Music and the Royal Northern College of Music (RNCM) denied he “crossed the line” on one occasion during a summer music school he staged in Cornwall.
A jury at Manchester Crown Court took less than 90 minutes to acquit Layfield, who showed no emotion as the not guilty verdict on one count of rape was returned.
Layfield’s son and daughter burst into tears in the public gallery as the verdict was returned.
It was said Layfield drove his victim – allegedly drunk on “strong alcoholic punch” made by the defendant – in the middle of the night to an isolated spot and was determined to have sex with her “come what may”.
The complainant, who he taught at Chetham’s and the RNCM claimed she “gave in” but then went on to have consensual sex with him over the following six weeks.
She alleged she was under his “influence and power” as Layfield threatened to take work opportunities away from her if she changed tutors, Manchester Crown Court heard
Father-of-two Layfield, of Castle Quay, Castleford, Manchester, told the jury he was not in a position to “destroy people’s careers” and neither did he encourage students to get drunk.
He said she willingly got into his car and that sex followed between the pair which was “a mutual thing that happened”.
The pair went on to have a sexual relationship, he said, before it later “fizzled out”.
Following the verdict, Layfield’s solicitor Matthew Claughton, from Olliers Solicitors, said: “Today’s unanimous verdict comes as a huge relief to Malcolm Layfield who would like to thank friends, family and his legal team and all those who have supported him over the last two years.”
Layfield was a popular, gifted teacher at both prestigious establishments and an acclaimed violinist himself who performed with the Manchester Camerata orchestra and led his own Goldberg Ensemble.
He told his rape trial that he was “regretful” about the “shameful” consensual relationships he had with female students, with the youngest aged 17.
The complainant was among a number of women who came forward in the wake of the 2013 conviction of Chetham’s former music director Michael Brewer to report historical sexual abuse.
Brewer was jailed for six years after he was found guilty of indecently assaulting ex-pupil Frances Andrade, 48, more than 30 years ago when she was 14 and 15.
Mrs Andrade killed herself at her home in Guildford, Surrey, a week after giving evidence against him.
Two men were sentenced last year as part of the investigation launched by Greater Manchester Police following Brewer’s conviction.
Conductor Nicholas Smith, 66, was jailed for eight months after he admitted sexually assaulting a 15-year-old Chetham’s pupil in the 1970s.
While double bass teacher Duncan McTier was handed a three-month jail term, suspended for two years, after he pleaded guilty to sexual assaults against three former pupils he taught at the RNCM and Purcell School of Music in Harrow.
Before the start of Layfield’s trial, his barrister, Benjamin Myers QC, applied for a ban on reporting his client’s identity unless he was convicted of the offence.
Despite publicity of his arrest and his subsquent charging, Layfield argued there was “no public interest” in identifying him in the event of his acquittal.
It was said that the “protracted investigation” had been “painful” for him and his family, and that if cleared he should have the same anonymity as his accuser.
Judge Michael Henshell swiftly dismissed the application and said he was not convinced the general principle of open justice should be departed from.
Later giving evidence, Layfield admitted to a number of “inappropriate” relationships he conducted with female students in the 1980s while he was married.
He had confessed to those affairs previously in 2002, shortly after a flood of complaints came in to the RNCM on his appointment as head of strings.
Layfield quit the college following the publicity surrounding Brewer’s conviction.
He is now divorced and is not presently working, the court heard.
Malcolm Layfield, former violin teacher at Chetham’s School of Music and head of strings at RNCM, has been found not guilty of rape, according to journalist tweets from Manchester Crown Court. Te jury took less than two hours to reach their verdict.
Layfield, now 63, had insisted his sexual relationship with the teenager had been consensual, as it had been in his relations with other students around the same time, in the 1980s.
More here.
Malcolm Layfield, 63, admitted to shameful behaviour with several female students but said sex with 18-year-old in 1980s was consensual
A former violin teacher accused of abusing his power and influence to prey on students has been found not guilty of rape.
Malcolm Layfield, the former head of strings at the Royal Northern College of Music (RNCM), was cleared of raping one of his students from Chetham’s school of music in Manchester in the 1980s when she was 18 and he was a married father in his 30s.
A jury at Manchester crown court cleared the 63-year-old after being told during the trial that, despite having a reputation as an excellent violin teacher, he had an “unpleasant, even frightening, dark side”.
Peter Cadwallader, prosecuting, said Layfield had treated his female students as “little more than sex objects”.
Layfield admitted behaving “shamefully” by having sex with a number of students from Chetham’s and the RNCM. But he denied raping one of them in the back of his car on a summer course in Cornwall in the 1980s after allegedly plying her with whiskey.
The sex was consensual, he said, claiming the victim flirted with him by wearing fishnet stockings and a black dress and performing a risque cabaret song with two classmates. She denied any flirtation, saying: “It doesn’t matter what young people sing or choose to wear. It’s not an invitation to rape.”
The investigation into Layfield began in early 2013 after the conviction of one of his contemporaries at Chetham’s, Michael Brewer, the school’s former head of music.
Brewer was found guilty of sexually abusing a 14-year-old pupil. His victim, Frances Andrade, killed herself after giving evidence against him. In a text message to a friend before her death she said she felt she had been “raped all over again” after a bruising encounter in the witness box with Brewer’s barrister.
Speaking after the verdict, Matthew Claughton, Layfield’s solicitor, said after the verdict: “Today’s unanimous not guilty verdict comes as a huge relief to Malcolm Layfield, who would like to thank friends, family and his legal team and all those who have supported him over the last two years.”
During Brewer’s trial, Andrade talked of how inappropriate teacher-pupil relationships at Chetham’s were rife, mentioning Layfield as one of the tutors involved.
In 2002 Andrade was one of a large number of musicians – including the complainant in Layfield’s case – who campaigned to stop him being appointed to the prestigious position of head of strings at the RNCM.
Edward Gregson, then principal of the college, replied to Andrade in a letter, saying: “All the occurrences to which our attention has been drawn happened at least eight years ago, and in many cases much longer.
“In our discussions with Mr Layfield he has admitted, and has expressed his regret for, all the occurrences to which our attention had been drawn, and indeed some others of which we were not previously aware, which also date back eight years or more.”
Layfield resigned from the RNCM in February 2013 after the Guardian published a dossier of correspondence documenting the controversy surrounding his 2002 appointment.
He quit, saying his position had become untenable. Later that year he was arrested.
At the start of his trial last Monday, Layfield tried to prevent reporting of the case.
His barrister, Ben Myers QC, asked the judge to impose reporting restrictions preventing the media from naming Layfield as the defendant. Complainants in sex cases are granted automatic anonymity; Myers argued his client deserved the same, saying there was “no public interest” in identifying him in the event of his acquittal.
It was said that the “protracted investigation” had been “painful” for Layfield and his family, and that if cleared he should have the same anonymity as his accuser. Judge Michael Henshell swiftly dismissed the application and said he was not convinced the general principle of open justice should be departed from.
Layfield was the first Manchester music teacher to opt for a jury trial since Brewer’s conviction.
Two other tutors charged as part of Operation Kiso, Greater Manchester police’s investigation into abuse at music schools in the city, pleaded guilty without a trial.
Last November double bassist Duncan McTier was given a three-month jail term, suspended for two years, after admitting to two counts of indecent assault and one count of attempted indecent assault against young women from the RNCM and Purcell school in Hertfordshire in the 1980s and 1990s.
In September the conductor Nicolas Smith was sentenced to eight months in prison after admitting sexually assaulting a 15-year-old Chetham’s pupil in the 1970s.
BBC News, June 8th, 2015
‘Malcolm Layfield: Chetham’s music teacher cleared of rape’
Malcolm Layfield, 63, denied claims he had used his “power and influence” to assault her in the back of his car.
He admitted he had pursued a number of consensual sexual relationships with students throughout the 1980s.
But the former violin teacher at Manchester’s Chetham’s School of Music denied he “crossed the line” during a summer school in Cornwall.
A jury at Manchester Crown Court took less than 90 minutes to acquit Mr Layfield.
‘Gave in’
Mr Layfield had been accused of driving the woman in the middle of the night to an isolated spot and raping her while she was drunk on an alcoholic punch made by him.
The complainant, who had been taught by Mr Layfield at Chetham’s and Royal Northern College of Music (RNCM), said she “gave in” and went on to have consensual sex with him over the following six weeks.
She said she had been under Mr Layfield’s “influence and power” as he threatened to take work opportunities away from her if she changed tutors.
Mr Layfield, of Castle Quay, Castlefield, told the jury he was not in a position to “destroy people’s careers”. He said she had willingly got into his car and that sex was “mutual”.
Mr Layfield’s solicitor, Matthew Claughton, said the verdict had come as a “huge relief” to his client.
Chethams School of Music
Chetham’s is one of the country’s best-known music schools
Mr Layfield, who performed with the Manchester Camerata orchestra and led his own Goldberg Ensemble, told the trial that he was “regretful” about the “shameful” consensual relationships he had with female students, with the youngest aged 17.
The complainant was among a number of women who came forward to report historical sexual abuse after the 2013 conviction of Chetham’s former music director Michael Brewer.
Brewer was jailed for six years after he was found guilty of indecently assaulting ex-pupil Frances Andrade, 48, more than 30 years ago when she was 14 and 15.
Mrs Andrade killed herself at her home in Guildford, Surrey, a week after giving evidence.
Two men were sentenced last year as part of an investigation launched by Greater Manchester Police following Brewer’s conviction.
Conductor Nicholas Smith, 66, was jailed for eight months after he admitted sexually assaulting a 15-year-old Chetham’s pupil in the 1970s.
Double bass teacher Duncan McTier also pleaded guilty to sexual assaults against three former pupils he taught at the RNCM and Purcell School of Music in Harrow, north-west London.
Before the trial, the judge dismissed an application to ban reporting Mr Layfield’s identity unless he was convicted of the offence.
Mr Layfield, 63, had denied the Crown’s allegation that he used his “power and influence” to commit the offence against the teenager in the back of his car.
A violin teacher who worked at Chetham’s School of Music and the Royal Northern College of Music has been cleared of raping an 18-year-old female student in the early 1980s.
Malcolm Layfield, 63, of Castle Quay, Castlefield, had denied the allegation that he used his “power and influence” to commit the offence against the teenager in the back of his car.
The defendant admitted he pursued a number of consensual sexual relationships with students throughout the 1980s which his trial heard were said to be “common knowledge” in classical musical circles in Manchester and further afield.
But the former part-time tutor denied he “crossed the line” on one occasion during a summer music school he staged in Cornwall.
A jury at Manchester Crown Court took less than 90 minutes to acquit Layfield, who showed no emotion as the not guilty verdict on one count of rape was returned.
Layfield’s son and daughter burst into tears in the public gallery as the verdict was returned.
It was said Layfield drove his victim – allegedly drunk on “strong alcoholic punch” made by the defendant – in the middle of the night to an isolated spot and was determined to have sex with her “come what may”.
The complainant, who he taught at Chetham’s and the RNCM claimed she “gave in” but then went on to have consensual sex with him over the following six weeks.
She alleged she was under his “influence and power” as Layfield threatened to take work opportunities away from her if she changed tutors, Manchester Crown Court heard
Father-of-two Layfield told the jury he was not in a position to “destroy people’s careers” and neither did he encourage students to get drunk.
He said she willingly got into his car and that sex followed between the pair which was “a mutual thing that happened”.
The pair went on to have a sexual relationship, he said, before it later “fizzled out”.
Following the verdict, Layfield’s solicitor Matthew Claughton, from Olliers Solicitors, said: “Today’s unanimous verdict comes as a huge relief to Malcolm Layfield who would like to thank friends, family and his legal team and all those who have supported him over the last two years.”
Express and Star, June 8th, 2015
‘Violin teacher cleared of rape’
A violin teacher has been cleared of raping an 18-year-old female student in the early 1980s.
Malcolm Layfield, 63, had denied the Crown’s allegation that he used his “power and influence” to commit the offence against the teenager in the back of his car.
The defendant admitted he pursued a number of consensual sexual relationships with students throughout the 1980s which his trial heard were said to be “common knowledge” in classical musical circles in Manchester and further afield.
But the former part-time tutor at Chetham’s School of Music and the Royal Northern College of Music (RNCM) denied he “crossed the line” on one occasion during a summer music school he staged in Cornwall.
A jury at Manchester Crown Court took less than 90 minutes to acquit Layfield, who showed no emotion as the not guilty verdict on one count of rape was returned.
Layfield’s son and daughter burst into tears in the public gallery as the verdict was returned.
It was said Layfield drove his victim – allegedly drunk on “strong alcoholic punch” made by the defendant – in the middle of the night to an isolated spot and was determined to have sex with her “come what may”.
The complainant, who he taught at Chetham’s and the RNCM claimed she “gave in” but then went on to have consensual sex with him over the following six weeks.
She alleged she was under his “influence and power” as Layfield threatened to take work opportunities away from her if she changed tutors, Manchester Crown Court heard
Father-of-two Layfield, of Castle Quay, Castleford, Manchester, told the jury he was not in a position to “destroy people’s careers” and neither did he encourage students to get drunk.
He said she willingly got into his car and that sex followed between the pair which was “a mutual thing that happened”.
The pair went on to have a sexual relationship, he said, before it later “fizzled out”.
Following the verdict, Layfield’s solicitor Matthew Claughton, from Olliers Solicitors, said: “Today’s unanimous verdict comes as a huge relief to Malcolm Layfield who would like to thank friends, family and his legal team and all those who have supported him over the last two years.”
Layfield was a popular, gifted teacher at both prestigious establishments and an acclaimed violinist himself who performed with the Manchester Camerata orchestra and led his own Goldberg Ensemble.
He told his rape trial that he was “regretful” about the “shameful” consensual relationships he had with female students, with the youngest aged 17.
The complainant was among a number of women who came forward in the wake of the 2013 conviction of Chetham’s former music director Michael Brewer to report historical sexual abuse.
Brewer was jailed for six years after he was found guilty of indecently assaulting ex-pupil Frances Andrade, 48, more than 30 years ago when she was 14 and 15.
Mrs Andrade killed herself at her home in Guildford, Surrey, a week after giving evidence against him.
Two men were sentenced last year as part of the investigation launched by Greater Manchester Police following Brewer’s conviction.
Conductor Nicholas Smith, 66, was jailed for eight months after he admitted sexually assaulting a 15-year-old Chetham’s pupil in the 1970s.
While double bass teacher Duncan McTier was handed a three-month jail term, suspended for two years, after he pleaded guilty to sexual assaults against three former pupils he taught at the RNCM and Purcell School of Music in Harrow.
Before the start of Layfield’s trial, his barrister, Benjamin Myers QC, applied for a ban on reporting his client’s identity unless he was convicted of the offence.
Despite publicity of his arrest and his subsquent charging, Layfield argued there was “no public interest” in identifying him in the event of his acquittal.
It was said that the “protracted investigation” had been “painful” for him and his family, and that if cleared he should have the same anonymity as his accuser.
Judge Michael Henshell swiftly dismissed the application and said he was not convinced the general principle of open justice should be departed from.
Later giving evidence, Layfield admitted to a number of “inappropriate” relationships he conducted with female students in the 1980s while he was married.
He had confessed to those affairs previously in 2002, shortly after a flood of complaints came in to the RNCM on his appointment as head of strings.
Layfield quit the college following the publicity surrounding Brewer’s conviction.
He is now divorced and is not presently working, the court heard.
A former teacher at one of the UK’s most prominent music schools has been cleared of raping an 18-year-old pupil in the 1980s.
Malcolm Layfield, 63, of Castle Quay, Castlefield, denied using his “power and influence” to sexually assault the woman after allegedly getting her drunk during a music summer school in Cornwall.
The complainant said she “gave in” and then went on to have consensual sex with him over the following six weeks out of fear he would take work opportunities away from her.
The former violin teacher at Chetham’s School of Music told Manchester Crown Court sex had been consensual with her and he was not in the position to “destroy people’s careers”. He also admitted to a number of other consensual sexual relationships with students in the 1980s, which was reportedly common knowledge at the time within musical circles in the area.
A jury took less than 90 minutes to have him acquitted of the offence.
Malcolm Layfield, formerly of Higher Poynton, was acquitted during a hearing at Manchester Crown Court.
A violin teacher has been cleared of raping an 18-year-old female student in the early 1980s.
Malcolm Layfield, 63, formerly of Higher Poynton and who worked at Chetham’s School of Music and the Royal Northern College of Music, denied the allegation that he used his “power and influence” to commit the offence against the teenager in the back of his car.
The defendant admitted he pursued a number of consensual sexual relationships with students throughout the 1980s which his trial heard were said to be “common knowledge” in classical musical circles in Manchester and further afield.
But the former part-time tutor denied he “crossed the line” on one occasion during a summer music school he staged in Cornwall.
A jury at Manchester Crown Court took less than 90 minutes to acquit Layfield, who showed no emotion as the not guilty verdict on one count of rape was returned.
Layfield’s son and daughter burst into tears in the public gallery as the verdict was returned.
It was said Layfield, of Castle Quay, Castlefield, drove his victim – allegedly drunk on “strong alcoholic punch” made by the defendant – in the middle of the night to an isolated spot and was determined to have sex with her “come what may”.
The complainant, who he taught at Chetham’s and the RNCM claimed she “gave in” but then went on to have consensual sex with him over the following six weeks.
She alleged she was under his “influence and power” as Layfield threatened to take work opportunities away from her if she changed tutors, Manchester Crown Court heard
Father-of-two Layfield told the jury he was not in a position to “destroy people’s careers” and neither did he encourage students to get drunk.
He said she willingly got into his car and that sex followed between the pair which was “a mutual thing that happened”.
The pair went on to have a sexual relationship, he said, before it later “fizzled out”.
Following the verdict, Layfield’s solicitor Matthew Claughton, from Olliers Solicitors, said: “Today’s unanimous verdict comes as a huge relief to Malcolm Layfield who would like to thank friends, family and his legal team and all those who have supported him over the last two years.”
Classical Music, June 8th, 2015
Katy Wright, ‘Former Chetham’s teacher found not guilty of rape’
Former violin teacher Malcolm Layfield, 63, has been found not guilty of raping a former pupil.
A jury at Manchester Crown Court took less than 90 minutes to acquit Layfield, who had been accused of raping an 18-year-old female student in the early 1980s.
He admitted he had pursued a number of consensual sexual relationships with students througout the 1980s, but denied that he had ‘crossed the line’ during a summer school in Cornwall.
Layfield had been accused of driving the woman to an isolated spot in the middle of the night and raping her while she was drunk. The complainant said she ‘gave in’ and went on to have consensual sex with him over the following six weeks.
The former violin teacher previously worked at Chetham’s School of Music and the Royal Northern College of Music, refuted the Crown’s allegation that he used his ‘power and influence’ to commit the offence against the teenager in the back of his car.
Layfield’s solicitor, Matthew Claughton, said the verdict had some as a ‘huge relief’ to his client.
Sky News, June 8th, 2015
‘Teacher Cleared Of Raping Student In Car’
The former part-time tutor admitted a number of “inappropriate” consensual sexual relationships with students in the 1980s.
A violin teacher has been cleared of raping an 18-year-old female student in the back of his car in the early 1980s.
Malcolm Layfield, 63, showed no emotion as he was acquitted of one count of rape but his son and daughter burst into tears in the public gallery when the verdict was read out.
The former part-time tutor at Chetham’s School of Music and the Royal Northern College of Music (RNCM) admitted a number of “inappropriate” consensual sexual relationships with students in the 1980s while he was married.
The relationships were said to be “common knowledge” in classical musical circles in Manchester and further afield, his trial at Manchester Crown Court heard.
However, he denied he used his “power and influence” and “crossed the line” on one occasion during a summer music school he staged in Cornwall.
It was said Layfield drove his victim – allegedly drunk on “strong alcoholic punch” made by the defendant – in the middle of the night to an isolated spot and was determined to have sex with her “come what may”.
The complainant, who he taught at Chetham’s and the RNCM, claimed she “gave in” but then went on to have consensual sex with him over the following six weeks.
She alleged she was under his “influence and power” as Layfield threatened to take work opportunities away from her if she changed tutors, the court was told.
Layfield said she willingly got into his car and that sex followed between the pair which was “a mutual thing that happened”.
The pair went on to have a sexual relationship, he said, before it later “fizzled out”.
The father-of-two, of Castle Quay, Castleford, Manchester, told the jury he was not in a position to “destroy people’s careers” and neither did he encourage students to get drunk.
Layfield was a popular, gifted teacher at both prestigious establishments and an acclaimed violinist himself who performed with the Manchester Camerata orchestra and led his own Goldberg Ensemble, the court heard.
He told his rape trial he was “regretful” about the “shameful” consensual relationships he had with female students, with the youngest aged 17.
Layfield is now divorced and is not presently working, the court heard.
The Times, June 9th, 2015
Fiona Hamilton, ‘Violin teacher cleared of raping pupil’
A former violin teacher at the prestigious Chetham’s School of Music in Manchester was cleared yesterday of raping an 18-year-old student.
Malcolm Layfield, who also worked at the Royal Northern College of Music (RNCM), was accused of using his “power and influence” to attack the teenager in the early 1980s.
Mr Layfield, 63, admitted that he had pursued a number of consensual sexual relationships with students throughout the decade. His trial was told that these were “common knowledge” in classical music circles. He denied raping one of the students during a summer music school he ran in Cornwall.
Mr Layfield, of Castlefield, Manchester, was accused of plying the teenager with a “strong alcoholic punch” before driving her to an isolated spot to have sex in the middle of the night. He said that they had consensual sex. The complainant, whom he taught at Chetham’s and the RNCM, claimed that she “gave in” and then had consensual sex with him over the following six weeks.
She alleged that she was under his “influence and power” because Mr Layfield threatened to take work opportunities away from her if she changed tutors.
A jury at Manchester crown court took less than 90 minutes to acquit Mr Layfield.
Manchester Evening News, June 9th, 2015
Chris Osuh, ‘Violin teacher cleared of raping student, 18, in the back of his car; Chetham’s and RNCM tutor told court that sex with student was consensual.’
AVIOLIN teacher who worked at Chetham’s School of Music and the Royal Northern College of Music has been cleared of raping an 18-year-old female student in the early 1980s. Malcolm Layfield, 63, of Castle Quay, Castlefield, had denied using his ‘power and influence’ to commit the offence against the teenager in the back of his car.
Mr Layfield admitted that he pursued a number of consensual sexual relationships with students throughout the 1980s.
His trial heard they were said to be ‘common knowledge’ in classical musical circles in Manchester and further afield. But the former part-time tutor denied he ‘crossed the line’ on one occasion during a summer music school he staged in Cornwall.
A jury at Manchester Crown Court took less than 90 minutes to acquit Mr Layfield, who showed no emotion as the not guilty verdict on one count of rape was returned.
Mr Layfield’s son and daughter burst into tears in the public gallery as the verdict was returned.
It was said Mr Layfield drove his alleged victim in the middle of the night to an isolated spot and was determined to have sex with her ‘come what may’.
It was claimed that the complainant was drunk on ‘strong alcoholic punch’ made by Mr Layfield at the time.
The complainant, who Mr Layfield taught at Chetham’s and the Royal Northern College of Music, claimed she ‘gave in’ at the time – but then went on to have consensual sex with him over the following six weeks.
She alleged she was under his ‘influence and power’ as Mr Layfield threatened to take work opportunities away from her if she changed tutors, Manchester Crown Court heard.
Father-of-two Mr Lay-field told the jury he was not in a position to ‘destroy people’s careers’.
Neither did he encourage students to get drunk, the court was told.
He said she willingly got into his car and that sex followed between the pair which was ‘a mutual thing that happened’.
The pair went on to have a sexual relationship, he said, before it ‘fizzled out’.
Following the verdict, Mr Layfield’s solicitor Matthew Claughton, from Olliers Solicitors, said: “Today’s unanimous verdict comes as a huge relief to Malcolm Layfield who would like to thank friends, family and his legal team and all those who have supported him over the last two years.”
‘Today’s verdict comes as a huge relief ‘
The Telegraph, June 9th, 2015
‘Chetham’s violin teacher cleared of raping student’
A VIOLIN teacher who worked at Chetham’s School of Music and the Royal Northern College of Music has been cleared of raping an 18-year-old student in the early 1980s.
Malcolm Layfield, 63, of Manchester, denied the allegation that he used his “power and influence” to commit the offence against the teenage girl in the back of his car.
Mr Layfield admitted he had a number of consensual sexual relationships with students throughout the 1980s, which his trial heard were “common knowledge” in classical musical circles in Manchester and further afield.
But the former part-time tutor denied he “crossed the line” during a summer music school he staged in Cornwall. A jury at Manchester Crown Court took less than 90 minutes to acquit Mr Layfield. It had been alleged in court that Mr Layfield drove the girl – who was said to have been drunk on strong punch made by the defendant – at night to an isolated spot and was determined to have sex with her “come what may”.
The complainant, who had been his pupil at Chetham’s and the Royal Northern College of Music, both in Manchester, claimed she “gave in” but then went on to have consensual sex with him over the following six weeks.
She alleged she was under his “influence and power”.
Mr Layfield told the jury the teenager willingly got into his car and that the sexual intercourse which followed was “a mutual thing that happened”.
Daily Mail, June 9th, 2015
Tom Rawstorne and James Tozer, ‘Preying on his Prodigies’
WITH his mop of ginger hair and thick-rimmed spectacles, music teacher Malcolm Layfield hardly cut the figure of a stereotypical Lothario. But when it came to satisfying his lust for young, impressionable girls, it was his power, not his appearance, that mattered.
While in his 30s, Layfield slept with half-a-dozen or so of his pupils, the youngest of them 17. Alcohol would generally be first consumed, after which sex would follow often in the distinctly unromantic setting of the back seat of his car.
The fact that Layfield was married didn’t stop him. If anything, it seemed to add an extra frisson to his philandering.
On one occasion, it was claimed that he had sex with a teenager while his wife and two young children were elsewhere in the house, though Layfield denies this.
Nor was the music master put off by the fact the girls he slept with happened to be his pupils.
A violin teacher at Manchester’s world-famous Chetham’s School of Music, time and again he abused his position for his own sexual gratification.
Details of Layfield’s predatory behaviour which he admitted was shameful’ were outlined last week during a trial at Manchester Crown Court. Now 63, he was accused of raping one of those teenage pupils in the early Eighties. She alleged that having plied her with alcohol, he pounced on her in the back of his car.
Layfield claimed the sex was consensual and yesterday the jury agreed, finding him not guilty.
But this is far from the end of it. Not only is the alleged victim planning to sue Chetham’s for failing to safeguard its young pupils, but the trial has brought to light yet more evidence of the shocking goings-on at the school, which is charged with nurturing Britain’s most brilliant musical minds.
The case also raises more questions as to why the authorities took so long to investigate the allegations, despite many opportunities.
What the jury was not told about were the links between the Layfield case and that of Michael Brewer, another former Chetham’s teacher. Brewer was jailed for six years in 2013 after being convicted of indecently assaulting Frances Andrade, also a pupil, when she was 14 and 15.
During Brewer’s trial, following a particularly traumatic cross-examination, mother-of-four Mrs Andrade, a brilliant violinist, took her own life. But not before she had told the court of her concerns about not just Brewer, but Malcolm Layfield, too.
She claimed that everyone knew about Layfield’s illicit relationships, but that Brewer the all-powerful head of music had hidden’ what was going on because he was compromised by his own abuse of her.
She also revealed that in 2002 she had reported her concerns about Layfield to police and to the college where he was then working, but no action was taken.
Only after Mrs Andrade’s death, and the publicity that followed it, would the accusations against him be investigated. Inspired by Mrs Andrade, a number of female ex-pupils, including the one who accused him of rape, came forward to voice their concerns about Layfield.
And while he may have been acquitted, he has not got off scot-free. As well as having been forced to quit his latest job, he has also been divorced by his long-suffering wife.
What he did all those years ago was always going to come back and bite him,’ said a former pupil. The only shame is it has taken so long.’
Malcolm Layfield was a gifted child from a troubled background. His father, John, killed himself aged 38, and left a suicide note which, said the coroner at his inquest, dealt with difficulties of a private nature’.
While at grammar school in County Durham, the young Malcolm took up the violin and then joined the Royal Scottish Academy Of Music and Drama, where he met his future wife, Cathie, a cellist.
He then took a part-time job in Manchester, teaching violin at the Royal Northern College of Music (RNCM), then, in 1977, also began working at Chetham’s.
The Layfields married the same year and went on to have a son, who is now a policeman, and a daughter.
As well as teaching, Layfield performed in leading orchestras and founded the Goldberg Ensemble, a string ensemble that performs to worldwide critical acclaim.
In other words, this was a man who was going places particularly when seen through the wide eyes of his pupils. Chetham’s is the largest specialist music school in the country, with some 300 pupils, boys and girls aged eight to 18, most of whom are boarders. At the time Brewer and Layfield taught there, it would appear normal rules did not apply.
I wouldn’t have wanted to be a girl at Chet’s,’ a former pupil told the Mail. There were girls getting pregnant by other pupils at 14 it was considered perfectly normal.’
And it wasn’t just the pupils. Teaching was on a one-to-one basis, the school a hothouse where young musicians laid their souls bare’ to impress their teachers.
For Layfield, the temptations were too hard to resist. Indeed, such was his reputation, he was known as Malcolm Lay-A-Lot’, while his colleague was known as Brewer The Screwer’.
During the court case, Layfield admitted to a number of inappropriate relationships’ with pupils. In the past, he has admitted there were at least six. These, he claims, involved girls no younger than 17.
The woman at the centre of this trial was one such pupil, joining Chetham’s at 14.
Malcolm went out of his way to cultivate a relationship where he was the mentor, the father figure,’ she said.
The incident she claimed was rape took place in the early Eighties during a course in Cornwall run by Layfield and his wife. One evening, Layfield laid on a vodka punch for the pupils whom he then encouraged to take part in a risqué cabaret. Very drunk, she said she retreated upstairs and got into her sleeping bag, only to be told to come back downstairs. The prosecution claimed Layfield knew she was inebriated and took advantage of her.
He drove her in his black Lancia to an isolated spot, got into the back of the car and had sex with her.
There was no violence, but he was using his strength,’ she said. I suppose I just gave in and I have hated myself for that ever since.’
In his defence, Layfield claimed the sex was consensual and that he didn’t recall his pupil appearing to be drunk. He claimed that during the earlier cabaret, the girl had worn a black dress with fishnet stockings and sung a suggestive song entitled The Masochism Tango, which he had taken as a come-on’ directed at him.
The complainant refuted this, saying: It does not matter what people sing or choose to wear, this is not an invitation to rape.’ She said she didn’t report the rape at the time because she feared no one would believe her.
The following term she started at the RNCM. She said she slept with Layfield on a number of further occasions, generally in the back of his car and once at his home while his wife and children were in the house (he denied this). I was just going along with it,’ she said. There was no romance. It was just him abusing his power to get sex.’
She said he later told her that if she changed teachers at the college, he would take all her freelance work, such as playing in ensembles, away from her. Again, he denied this.
After the relationship fizzled out, she said she tried to forget what had happened. But, in 2002, she was prompted to make a complaint after learning that Layfield, who had stopped teaching at Chetham’s in 1997, was to be promoted to head of strings at the RNCM.
A number of tutors at the college, led by Martin Roscoe, a world-renowned concert pianist, objected, as did some former pupils. They separately contacted Professor Edward Gregson, then principal of the college, to warn him of Layfield’s past.
Mrs Andrade also contacted the police and the RNCM.
Are you aware,’ she wrote, that when we were 16, Malcolm Layfield took various students to the pub where large quantities of alcohol were bought for the girls which made them less able to resist what then followed?’
In July 2002, the Daily Mail highlighted the allegations against Layfield and published detailed accounts of a number of women who claimed to have had relationships with him while at Chetham’s.
The modus operandi they revealed was one that usually involved drink (he was said to have kept a bottle of whisky in his car) flattery and promises to help the students’ careers.
One told how she’d had sex with him in his teaching room, another at his home after being plied with drink, only realising what had happened when I saw the whisky glass by the bed’ the following morning.
The women spoke of being emotionally scarred by their relationships’ with him, one saying she had been in and out of psychiatric care and had even attempted suicide.
Despite the seriousness of their claims, Layfield was nonetheless appointed to the post which he would hold for the next 11 years.
Principal Gregson and Lord Armstrong chairman of the RNCM’s board of governors, a former Cabinet Secretary and head of the Civil Service under Margaret Thatcher claimed they had thoroughly looked into the claims, that Layfield had admitted to six relationships with students, and that all those involved were consenting and not under-age.
All the occurrences happened at least eight years ago, and in many cases much longer,’ Gregson wrote.
In our discussions with Mr Layfield, he has admitted and expressed his regret for all the occurrences to which our attention had been drawn, and indeed some others of which we were not previously aware, which also date back eight years or more.’
Mr Roscoe, meanwhile, received
a letter from the RNCM’s director of resources, warning him not to communicate with any third party, either inside or outside the college, about any of the details that have been considered as this might bring the name of the college into disrepute’.
He quit his post in protest.
Thanks, however, to the bravery of 48-year-old Mrs Andrade, that was not to be the end of the matter.
The trial of Brewer lifted the lid not just on his sordid abuse of Mrs Andrade (he was jailed for six years, while his wife, Kay, received 21 months for the role she had played in one incident), but also brought the spotlight to bear on Malcolm Layfield’s activities.
Following her tragic death and the conviction of Brewer, questions were immediately raised about the behaviour of a number of other teachers at Chetham’s Layfield included.
As a number of women came forward to air their concerns, Layfield was finally forced to resign his job as head of strings at the RNCM in 2013.
Soon afterwards, his wife, Cathie, a marriage guidance counsellor, divorced him leaving him with nowhere to live but on a rented houseboat that is moored in Manchester.
Layfield was initially arrested over allegations that he had raped three women aged 16 to 18, but he was eventually charged with a single count of rape.
After a trial lasting a week and with just an hour’s deliberation, the jury found him not guilty.
But while it meant that he left the court yesterday without a criminal record, the stain on his reputation is one that is unlikely ever to fade.
Slipped Disc, June 9th, 2015
Norman Lebrecht, ‘Malcolm Layfield is Innocent. What Now?’
Slipped Disc editorial
The former Chetham’s violin and head of strings at Royal Northern College of Music was cleared within 90 minutes by a jury of the single charge on which he was tried; the alleged rape of an 18 year-old female student some 30 years ago. Layfield, 63, is under British justice, cleared of all stigma and is free to resume his career.
But the issue of sexual exploitation and abuse at English music schools has not gone away.
In court, under oath, Layfield admitted with regret to having several affairs with his students at Chetham’s during the 1980s. He was not the only teacher to do so. Evidence was heard that Chetham’s was, at best, negligent during that period in exercising its duty of care towards vulnerable teenagers. Further evidence indicated that complaints by students against teachers who abused their authority in this way were not dealt with in an appropriate manner.
Sexual abuse in English music schools has been covered up for a full generation. Those who engaged in the cover-up – governors, headteachers, teachers – have not been called to account. There remains a strong case for a public inquiry to be held where both victims and those in authority can raise their voices and lay the wretched past to rest.
The law is a blunt instrument. Malcolm Layfield, innocent, will have to rebuild his practice from scratch. A public inquiry would obviate the need for further prosecutions and allow the healing process to begin.
Former Chetham’s and Royal Northern College of Music violin teacher Malcolm Layfield, 63, has been found not guilty of raping a former pupil.
A jury at Manchester Crown Court took less than 90 minutes to acquit Layfield, who had been accused of raping an 18-year-old female student in the early 1980s.
During the trial, Layfield admitted that he had pursued a number of consensual sexual relationships with students, the youngest of whom was 17, throughout the 1980s. He described these relationships as ‘shameful’, but denied that he had ‘crossed the line’ during a summer school in Cornwall.
Layfield had been accused of driving the woman to an isolated spot in the middle of the night and raping her while she was drunk. The complainant said she subsequently ‘gave in’ and went on to have consensual sex with him over the following six weeks.
The former violin teacher denied the allegation that he used his ‘power and influence’ – including threats to prevent her from gaining work opportunities if she changed tutor – to commit the offence against the teenager in the back of his car.
The trial heard that Layfield was well known for having relationships with students, and his appointment as head of strings at the RNCM in 2002 was controversial.
Speaking to the BBC, pianist Martin Roscoe – who was RNCM’s head of keyboards at the time and who appeared at the trial – said he had been ‘absolutely shocked’ at the college’s decision.
Roscoe continued: ‘On ethical grounds, on moral grounds, that is the behaviour of someone who should not be put in a position of pastoral care, dealing with students of any age, in my view.’
Layfield’s solicitor, Matthew Claughton, said the verdict had some as a ‘huge relief’ to his client.
Tweet from Tom Rawstorne, @Rawsty, June 9th, 2015
‘Woman in Layfield case is now suing Chetham’s for failure to safeguard children, say her lawyers at Slater & Gordon. Signficant. @ian_pace’
New Surrey Safeguarding Report on suicide of Frances Andrade draws attention to dangers of music education
Posted: April 10, 2014 Filed under: Abuse, Chetham's, Musical Education, Specialist Music Schools | Tags: chetham's, Frances Andrade, music school abuse, surrey safeguarding adult's board 12 CommentsA report published today by the Surrey Safeguarding Adults Board (which can be accessed here; a summary and press release can be downloaded here). There is much to be said about the long report and its comments on Chetham’s School, but I wanted for now to draw people’s attention to one passage in particular which is most pertinent:
Music schools, in common with other “hothousing” establishments, create pressures that may have a particularly damaging impact on young people who are vulnerable and/or without parental support. These settings are competitive, and feed into expectations already placed on the young person to be “special” and to succeed. The adults around them, who are often prominent performers in their own right, are invested with exceptional power and influence and are in a position of trust from which they exert considerable leverage over whether their pupils achieve success in their chosen fields. The music world is not alone in this regard, -similar pressures arise in elite sports academies, boarding schools, ballet schools, cathedral and choir schools, drama and performing arts courses, art schools and other areas of endeavour that create a backdrop for this very particular and potent form of grooming.
‘Chethams School provided an ideal environment for this kind of abuse to occur. The school seemed unaware of the risks of sexual abuse and it does not appear to have proactively promoted a child protection agenda. Boundaries were blurred and some staff seemed at times to act with impunity. When, Mrs A was sent, as a teenager, to live with MB and his family it was effectively a private fostering arrangement, put in place without any proper scrutiny or formal overview. The atmosphere of elite performance teaching created what one pupil described as a belief that you were “special”6 and it placed teachers in an exclusive and powerful position in relation to their protégés.
In response to this case another music teacher (MR), a man who had acted as a whistle-blower, published an article offering a window onto the culture in these circles at the time we are speaking of from which it can be seen that Mrs A was not alone in being at risk from abusive sexual relationships and unprofessional behaviour. MR later said,
Music lessons are one-to-one… So, if you’re determined to behave wrongly, there’s the opportunity: “It’s one of the easiest situations to abuse, I would have thought.”
He further discussed how music teaching in particular, takes place in a context of emotional intensity and that pupils’ crushes on staff are commonplace.
So this culture of sexualised behaviour between teachers and pupils that developed in the school at that time was, to some extent, known about and condoned. This culture may also have prevailed at the Royal Northern College of Music as there was considerable overlapping of staff, and this became the focus of contention specifically in relation to the appointment of ML to a senior post at the college. MR publicly confronted the principle of the college about the suitability of this appointment, given widespread allegations about ML’s sexual exploitation of young women students, at considerable cost to his career7. When he made his concerns public, he received many letters of support from students disclosing past abuses and concerns. Mrs A was one such pupil/student. When his whistle-blower’s warnings went unheeded, he recounted that
“Letters from pupils and professional musicians poured in, one was from [Mrs A] … She was a force to be reckoned with …”There was tremendous passion and anger.” Chethams therefore represented a very particular context in which it was possible for MB to target and groom Mrs A from a position of trust, power and influence. Although it seems to have been common knowledge that some teachers within the music network around Chethams and the Royal Northern Music School had sexual relationships with their pupils this was not formally addressed.
1. THIS REVIEW DID NOT HAVE A MANDATE TO COMMENT ON ISSUES OF CHILD PROTECTION BUT URGES CHILDREN’S SAFEGUARDING BOARDS AND THE INDEPENDENT SCHOOLS INSPECTORATE TO PAY ATTENTION TO ALL SCHOOLS ESPECIALLY, BUT NOT EXCLUSIVELY, BOARDING SCHOOLS INCLUDING THOSE CONCERNED WITH “SPECIAL” PUPILS OR THOSE THAT HAVE ELITE STATUS. THIS INCLUDES SO CALLED “FREE” SCHOOLS THAT EXIST TO SOME EXTENT OUTSIDE OF LOCAL NETWORKS.
Having written about this very subject myself almost a year ago (Ian Pace, ‘The culture of music education lends itself to abuse’, Times Education Supplement, May 11th, 2013), I am more than glad that others are starting to recognise this issue and the particular problems inherent to musical education. More to follow later.
A further call to write to MPs to support an inquiry into abuse in musical education
Posted: November 26, 2013 Filed under: Abuse, Chetham's, Music - General, Musical Education, Specialist Music Schools | Tags: abuse, chetham's, Frances Andrade, marcel gazelle, michael brewer, music schools, petition, robert waddington 3 CommentsPetition for Public Inquiry into Abuse in Musical Education – November 2013
It is nearly ten months since the conviction of Michael and Kay Brewer on charges of sexual assault whilst Michael Brewer was Director of Music at Chetham’s School of Music, during a tragic trial in the course of which the victim, Frances Andrade, took her own life. Since this conviction, there have been a flood of allegations relating to widespread sexual, physical and emotional abuse at all of the five specialist music schools in the UK (as for example with the cases of Marcel Gazelle and Robert Waddington), and all the major music colleges as well, as well as further allegations pointing to a widespread culture of collusion, complicity and cover-up of these practices within these institutions. Police investigations have proceeded, and to date there have been a number of arrests of individuals connected to Chetham’s, the Royal Northern College of Music, the Royal Academy of Music, and the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, some of which may result in criminal charges. However, police have made it clear that it is not possible for them to investigate cases where the perpetrator is now dead, where the victim was over 16 and the events in question took place before the 2003 Sexual Offences Act, or in other cases (especially concerning serious psychological and emotional abuse) where there is no direct criminality involved. Furthermore, it is beyond the scope of a police investigation to look deeper into questions of institutional responsibility for this phenomenon, or the wider culture and values of musical education which may have played a part in allowing these alleged events to happen. Beyond this, in the close-knit world of classical music, where it is practically impossible for victims to remain anonymous even if not named in the press, there has grown since February an atmosphere of fear, intimidation and ostracisation from some quarters (including other musicians and some alumni communities), by individuals disdaining anything which might blacken the names of various ‘great musicians’ or taint the name of institutions, such as can act as a deterrent towards those who might have thought of coming forward. Such a deterrent also has to be set alongside knowledge of the terrible plight of Andrade, which remains in many people’s minds. Some of the institutions are clearly treating this primarily as an issue of their own reputations, with Chetham’s having been revealed to be employing a crisis management firm; some correspondence from former pupils, parents or other interested parties has been brushed off in a breezy manner. Furthermore, resistance to genuinely addressing the problem is growing as part of a wider backlash, as can be found in some comments posted under the regular updates on the subject on the blog of Norman Lebrecht (Slipped Disc), and also in recent debates conducted in the Times Educational Supplement (see my separate post here and also some comments on the ensuing debate here)
Only a full public inquiry into sexual and other abuse in musical education is likely to get to the bottom of this alleged widespread corrosive abuse and ensure both that those who have suffered are heard in safety, and proper recommendations are made to ensure this could never happen again. In February such a petition was set up and garnered over 1000 signatories over just a week, including a huge number of former students at UK specialist music schools and colleges. This was re-opened in May and further signatures added. It has been sent to head teachers, directors of music and college principals, and also to government ministers responsible for education and their shadow counterparts. Whilst to date no indication of an inquiry has yet been received, together with another person I have been having meetings at Parliament, and know that there is a planned meeting of sympathetic MPs from all parties in mid-December, with a view towards lobbying further. Various people have already written to their MPs urging them to support this, and a small caucus of such MPs is being formed. I would strongly urge all people sympathetic to this cause (whether or not they are musicians or have personal experiences) to write to their own MP as soon as possible. A copy of the petition as a PDF is given at the top of this message, and below I reproduce in edited form some text from an earlier blog post indicating how to set about this task. All support is needed now as soon as possible. Please do let others know about this as well.
If you receive a sympathetic reply from your MP, I would be most grateful if you could let me know, then I can forward their name to other interested MPs.
I would like to urge everyone who has signed the petition (and anyone else) to write to their local MP, and preferably as soon as possible. The more MPs are made aware of it by constituents, the stronger the political pressure for an inquiry will be in Parliament. If you are not aware of who is your local MP, go to http://findyourmp.parliament.uk/ and enter your postcode – you should be provided with full contact details for him/her. A basic template for the type of letter you might use which is printed below – naturally feel free to modify it or replace it with something else of your own. I would recommend including a short bit about yourself, in particular stressing any connection you might have to Chetham’s or any other musical institution. I have included a clause for those who might be prepared to meet with their local MP – several people have already made appointments for this. If anyone plans to do this and wants some further briefing, please do contact me. It is also naturally paramount to attach a copy of the petition, which is attached at the top of this post.
Thank you to everyone who has supported this campaign, and above all to those victims who have been brave enough to come forward. The following links feature some important broadcast features from earlier in the year:
http://www.itv.com/news/2013-03-25/sex-abuse-claims-spread-beyond-manchester-music-school/
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-21941874
http://www.channel4.com/news/chethams-sexual-abuse-andrade-manchester-music-school
The following article from today, by the pioneering Guardian journalist Helen Pidd, is especially important – http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2013/mar/26/chethams-music-school-sexual-abuse-inquiry
The full remarks of the judge prior to sentencing can be found here – warning, these are extremely graphic and could act as a trigger to some – http://www.judiciary.gov.uk/Resources/JCO/Documents/Judgments/r-brewer-sentencing-remarks.pdf
I am particularly relieved that he chose to draw attention to the ways in which so many prominent people were prepared to back Brewer, in full knowledge of his crimes, because of some misguided ideas that his artistry mitigated against this.
Dear (Member of Parliament),
I am writing as a concerned constituent to ask you to support a petition calling for an independent inquiry into sexual and other abuse in specialist music education.
This petition has been signed by over 1000 people, the majority of them musicians, and includes over 300 former pupils from Chetham’s School of Music, one of the country’s leading specialist music schools.
The petition is attached as a PDF, and it can also be viewed online, with signatories and comments, at https://ianpace.wordpress.com/2013/05/09/re-opened-until-may-31st-2013-petition-for-an-inquiry-into-sexual-and-other-abuse-at-specialist-music-schools/ .
The call for this petition has come in the wake of the recent conviction of Michael Brewer and his wife, Hilary Kay Brewer, on charges of sexual assault against Frances Andrade whilst she was a student at the school. Michael Brewer was Director of Music at Chetham’s when the offences took place. Frances tragically took her life during the course of the trial, and a wide range of further allegations have, as a result of the court case, surfaced since the verdict.
One of the initiators of the petition, Ian Pace (ian@ianpace.com ), who has hosted it on his blog, has been contacted by a great many people with many other allegations to suggest that abuse was a widespread phenomenon, at least in former times, and that such abuse spread well beyond Chetham’s to other specialist music institutions throughout the country – many former victims are now finally feeling empowered, sometimes decades after the events in question, to go forward to the police.
On this basis, the signatories are calling for an inquiry into the many aspects of musical education and the workings of these institutions. It is hoped that an inquiry would set out to comprehend why and how such abusive behaviour could apparently so easily occur, and would seek to make certain that current and future procedures are robust enough to ensure that this may be prevented in the future, whilst safeguarding the best aspects of such education and protecting teachers as well.
The safeguarding of all children in education must be a priority to all, but the specialist nature of music education demands a vigorous approach to their safeguarding. The bonds between a music student and their teacher are, by their very nature, intense; the level of study is demanding and the commitment to the subject by both parties means that the relationship between student and teacher is a unique one.
I very much hope that you will see fit to give your own support to such an inquiry, which would, I believe, serve to strengthen the musical education in our country, for both current and future generations.
If you would like further information, [I would be more than happy to meet with you, or] you can contact the petition organiser, Ian Pace, at ian@ianpace.com
Yours sincerely,
A message from another victim of abuse at a UK music school, calling for others to come forward
Posted: November 25, 2013 Filed under: Abuse, Music - General, Musical Education, Specialist Music Schools | Tags: abuse, Frances Andrade, Frank Furedi, Heather Piper, Institute for Ideas, music schools, Norman Lebrecht, Royal College of Music, Watford School of Music 5 CommentsI received a message last week from another survivor of abuse in UK musical education, which has since been posted on the blog of Norman Lebrecht here. With permission, I am also reproducing it here. The author has told me of his wish for others to come forward about this and other cases. Even where the perpetrator is now dead, it is still important for there to be acknowledgment of what really went on; I would add that there still needs to be much wider and difficult questions asked about the nature of institutions and the culture of musical education which appears to have facilitated widespread abuse (and not just in the UK). At a recent debate organised by the Institute of Ideas at the Barbican Centre, which I attended, the sociologist Frank Furedi (author of the much-criticised Moral Crusades in an Age of Mistrust: The Jimmy Savile Scandal) argued that recent talk of abuse in musical education stemmed from a fear of ‘intimacy’, and expressed his concern above all that musical teachers were able to ‘touch the soul’, whilst the educationalist Heather Piper made out that the issue was one of self-aggrandisement on the part of the NSPCC and other institutions on the basis of what was argued to be just a few isolated historic cases. I find these attitudes contemptuous, though in milder form they were echoed by all but one of the other panellists and quite a number of audience members. More and more information is emerging all the time, further arrests are being made (including recently of a former teacher in a London college on multiple charges – see here); certainly everyone so accused must be granted the presumption of innocence, but if even a fraction of the allegations were true, this would evidence of something epidemic. I echo my correspondent’s sentiments below, and once again would urge further all those who care about this issue to contact their MPs ( to ask them to give their support to a public inquiry (for details of how to do so, see my earlier blog posts here). There will be an important meeting of all sympathetic MPs in December; the more there are, the greater the pressure will be.
If you would like to contact the author of the below, please feel free to e-mail me (at ian@ianpace.com) with your details, and I will forward them to him.
The tragic story of Frances Andrade and the revelations over the past year of sexual abuse at some of our most prestigious schools of music have stirred up painful memories for me dating from forty years ago.
In the 1970s, I studied piano at the Watford School of Music and was sexually abused over a four-year period by one of the teachers there. The abuse ended when my parents received a letter in the middle of term, stating that the man was no longer able to teach at Watford School of Music and I was then taught by someone else.
However, my abuser continued to teach at the Royal College of Music until 1995 when, I have since learned, he was convicted of a sexual offence. He died in 2004 and his obituary appeared in several daily newspapers.
The experience affected me deeply and stunted my emotional and sexual development. I became withdrawn, anxious and angry. For many years I was unable to form healthy, intimate relationships and bouts of deep depression have been a regular feature of my life.
As a result of intensive psychotherapy, I have been able to appreciate for the first time the seriousness of the damage I suffered but also to realise that I was not, as I used to think, to blame for what happened to me all those years ago. I know I am not my abuser’s only victim and if one of you is reading this, or if any of what I have written resonates with your own experience or knowledge of sexual abuse at either the Watford School of Music or the Royal College of Music in the period before 1995 it would be good to hear from you.
I tell my story here so not merely as an attempt to reach some closure on this painful episode, but hopefully to encourage other victims to tell their stories too.
Addendum: Another victim has chosen to share their story of abuse at a music school, which can be read on Slipped Disc here.
Desiring Progress 