Winchester College has been rocked by yet another scandal after a pupils' yearbook was filled with racist comments.
Pupils accused their black and Asian colleagues of rape and "being smelly" and "uncultured" in the book, produced as an end of year stunt. They also suggested the boys would end up "cleaning a white man's toilet", "nailed to a burning cross" or "shackled to a pick-up truck and dragged through the streets".
Staff and other pupils at the £21,000 a year school where the motto is Manners Maketh Man were horrified by the comments. Head teacher Tommy Cookson has apologised for what he described as the "intolerable" comments. Mr Cookson said the book's content was unchecked in the end of term rush. He said: "We were very distressed. We were appalled by what had been written. The school has a clear policy in such matters. Discrimination of any sort is not tolerated."
Within 24 hours of publication every copy of the book had been recalled. All but one was destroyed.
The students responsible were suspended but were allowed to stay at the school after their victims accepted apologies. The book is an unofficial publication by pupils, with every top-year student paying £8 to be pictured on a page.
A Nigerian boy was quoted saying "I also am smelly". He would end up "Shackled to a pick-up truck being dragged through the streets/bus driver", the book said.
Another entry said one Chinese student would be an "illegal immigrant working in Old Trafford", while a Malaysian was quoted saying "I am uncultured oriental", who would be a "Hong Kong pimp" in 30 years' time.
Winchester College, which has 700 pupils and 100 staff, is one of the country's leading private schools and has the highest school fees in Britain.
But it has been rocked by a series of embarrassments in recent months. Its two chaplains were sacked in the summer for involvement in the leaking of confidential information to a national newspaper. They are considering an appeal to an employment tribunal. A housemaster, Peter Metcalfe was cleared of three counts of child cruelty in May.
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