25 March 2023 , 21:36
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Children at a prestigious school are being investigated by police over alleged online abuse of other pupils.
Several teenagers at the top grammar – which has a Royal Charter – were sent home after staff reported malicious messages on two Instagram accounts.
And some pupils at a posh neighbouring private school in Kent have also been suspended over similar allegations.
Yesterday one victim’s mum told us: “The kids involved need prosecuting. The abuse is horrible and has been seen by hundreds of pupils from both schools. My child was one of those named on the site – she’s deeply upset. Some of the comments about one girl were absolutely vile.”
Cranbrook School in Kent – a co-educational state-funded boarding school charging up to £17,250 a year for boarders from outside the catchment area – has alerted parents to the police probe.
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Vile messages have been aimed at pupils on Instagram (Getty Images/Science Photo Library RF)Deputy head Mandy Smart warned in an email: “The messages are about named individuals at school and range from stupid and rude to malicious, insulting and grossly offensive.
“Many are upset by the content. Both accounts have been removed and we have reported them under the Malicious Communication Act.”
She said officers were working with Instagram to gather evidence. Pupils have been offered counselling. The pupils suspended are believed to be in Years 11, 12 and 13.
Meanwhile the other school involved – Sutton Valence, a co-ed near Maidstone charging up to £7,740 a term in tuition fees, with £4,430 for boarding – is dealing with the incident internally.
Cranbrook, with 876 pupils, was granted a Royal charter by Elizabeth I in 1574 and ex-pupils include comedian Harry Hill and NASA astronaut Piers Sellers, who took a copy of the charter into space with him in 2003.
Pupils affected by the abuse have been offered counselling (Getty Images/iStockphoto)Sutton Valence School, which has up to 600 pupils, was founded in 1576 by a member of the court of King Henry VIII. It’s former pupils include Olympian Sydney Wooderson who set a mile world record in 1937, and GB hockey star Susannah Townsend, who won gold at Rio in 2016.
Both schools issued statements saying the behaviour was “utterly unacceptable and absolutely contradictory” to their schools’ policies and values. And both confirmed they had taken internal disciplinary action, resulting in the suspension of several students.
Kent Police said officers were liaising with Cranbrook School and supporting staff to resolve the matter internally. An Instagram spokeswoman said: “We use detection technology and reports from our community to find and remove content that violates our policies.
“We spent approximately $5billion last year alone on safety and security.”