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	St Benedicts Admits: " We Should Have Done More to Protect Pupils." By James Gates Ealing Gazette November 9, 2011 www.ealinggazette.co.uk/ealing-news/local-ealing-news/2011/11/09/st-benedicts-admits-we-should-have-done-more-to-protect-pupils-64767-29745440/ ST BENEDICT'S School in Ealing has apologised for the 'terrible legacy' left by past incidents of child abuse. Headteacher Chris Cleugh has made a full apology following the publication of an inquiry led by Lord Carlile of Berrew QC. In the report, Lord Carlile recommends that the school must be run by a trust comprising a majority of lay people, taking away control from the monks in Ealing Abbey. Former head David Pearce was jailed for eight years in 2009 for abusing five boys over a period of 36 years. Four of the victims were below the age of 14. A manhunt is currently underway for Father Laurence Soper, 80, former abbot of Ealing Abbey, who failed to answer bail in March 2011 following arrest on suspicion of abuse. Mr Cleugh said: "Past abuses at the school have left a terrible legacy for those affected and have tarnished the reputation of St Benedict's. On behalf of all at the School, I offer my heartfelt apology for past failures. The school could have, and should have, done more. "Creating a safe environment in which our pupils can develop academically, socially and spiritually is our number one concern. Consequently, St Benedict's will move immediately to put into action all the recommendations of this report in order to meet Lord Carlile's suggested implementation date of 1st September 2012. "This will include establishing a new system of governance that will separate the Abbey from the running of the School. "We know that the school made serious mistakes. We are determined that safeguarding procedures at St Benedict's should in future be exemplary and the appalling abuses of the past should never happen again." More on this as we get it.
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