Police have launched an investigation into allegations of sexual abuse at a boarding school attended by Princess Diana’s brother Earl Spencer.
Writing in his memoir, Earl Spencer alleged that he suffered physical and sexual abuse at Maidwell Hall School in Northamptonshire in the 1970s.
Earl Spencer attended the school from the ages of eight to 13.
In the book, he made allegations of abuse that he had suffered during his time as a pupil at the school.
“Many of us left Maidwell with demons sewn into the seams of our souls,” he wrote.
The book, named A Very Private School, was published last March.
In a statement given to media when the book was released, Maidwell Hall said it was “sorry” about the experiences Earl Spencer and some others had at the school.
“It is difficult to read about practices which were, sadly, sometimes believed to be normal and acceptable at that time,” the school said.
“Within education today, almost every facet of school life has evolved significantly since the 1970s. At the heart of the changes is the safeguarding of children, and promotion of their welfare.”
A spokesperson for Northamptonshire Police said: “We are in the early stages of investigating a number of non-recent allegations of sexual abuse at Maidwell Hall School.
“Northamptonshire Police takes all allegations of abuse very seriously and where reports are made to us, we will pursue all available lines of enquiry to help bring perpetrators to justice.
“We encourage anyone who has suffered abuse anywhere in our county, at any time, to contact us either online at northants.police.uk, by calling 101 or 03000 111 222 if you’re calling from outside of Northamptonshire.”
The Standard has approached Maidwell Hall School for comment.
