Private school cadets 'tied up and beaten' at Easter camp

see article: http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/home-news/private-school-cadets-tied-up-and-beaten-at-easter-camp.24063656

Do you believe that the CCF harbors institutionalised bullying?

A top private school in Scotland has been investigated by the police after parents claimed that their sons returned from CCF camp with bruises caused by older pupils at the school.

Reply 1

C_Richards99

Police were called after at least four teenagers returned from an Edinburgh Academy Easter cadet camp covered from head to toe in bruises.

The 15-year-old victims told their horrified parents they had been restrained and then thrashed by older students.

The £11,000-a-year school, which was founded by Sir Walter Scott and counts Robert Louis Stevenson among its former pupils, has army and air sections in a Combined Cadet Force.

A group of army cadets from the school is understood to have travelled to an outdoor activities centre near Aberdeen during the holiday.

An insider said: "When the boys and girls came back from their trip, at least four parents said their children were covered head to toe in bruises.

"The kids told them that they had been tied up before being kicked and punched.

"They were whipping the younger boys with wire coat hangers."
The insider added: "They didn't know if it was an initiation of sorts or having 'fun' but now the parents want criminal charges brought against these bullies.

Read the full article here: http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/home-news/private-school-cadets-tied-up-and-beaten-at-easter-camp.24063656

Do you believe that these sort of activities encourages institutionalised bullying? And is CCF still needed in this post war society?

Reply 2

Clip

There are more than 100,000 youth cadets in the country. If this kind of thing happens a lot, and there is a causal link between the bullying and the existence of the organisation - then I suppose you could say its institutionalised. Otherwise, I don't think you can.

If you scour the trade union and HR journals, it would appear that there is an enormous amount of bullying occurring in hospitals and schools. Does that mean that working in education and healthcare encourages institutionalised bullying?

On a wider point, I personally think that cadet forces are something of an anachronism in their current form. They don't know if they are fish or fowl - are prohibited from being explicit recruiting tools for the armed forces, but they are clearly not wholly civilian youth organisations. Apart from anything else, the leadership is often very weak. For example - the CCFs are apeing military organisations, but often the instructors are the school's teachers who have had a change of clothes.

Reply 3

KingBradly

I doubt this would be news if it didn't happen at a private school.

Reply 4

Smaug123

Original post by C_Richards99

Do you believe that these sort of activities encourages institutionalised bullying? And is CCF still needed in this post war society?

I never experienced institutionalised bullying. CCF isn't needed, but it's really fun :biggrin:

Reply 5

flugelr

Original post by C_Richards99

Do you believe that the CCF harbors institutionalised bullying?

No. Every school runs its CCF independently, so the fact that there are problems in this particular school does not mean that the CCF as a whole, "harbours institutionalised bullying".

Reply 6

Talon

Original post by C_Richards99

Do you believe that the CCF harbors institutionalised bullying?

No. Unfortunately, some kids are just mean.

Reply 7

Talon

Original post by C_Richards99

And is CCF still needed in this post war society?

How do you define "needed"? Cadet organisations are not about joining the forces, they are supposed to be enjoyable and also to teach important skills. It is no coincidence that those nominated for national first aid awards tend to have cadets in their number every year.

Reply 8

Drewski

Original post by C_Richards99

Do you believe that these sort of activities encourages institutionalised bullying? And is CCF still needed in this post war society?

Every single CCF is run independently. There is no centralised form of tuition, there is no way this can be classified as institutionalised on the part of the CCF.

And as for needed. Is Scouts 'needed'? Are football clubs 'needed'?

(edited 9 years ago)

Reply 9

MostUncivilised

That's absolutely revolting.

I served in both the cadets, when I was in high school, and the (Australian) army reserve later on. I absolutely loved my time in the cadets, but reflecting back on it I think we were lucky that our NCOs were smart, committed and decent guys. If we'd had maniacs as NCOs, the discipline necessary to military organisations would have simply been a cover for bullying. It goes without saying that it's crucial to have sensible, mature officers supervising the NCOs.

NCOs and officers in the cadet corps are entrusted with a very important responsibility to look after these kids, very disappointing to see some abusing that trust.

Reply 10

MostUncivilised

Original post by C_Richards99

Do you believe that these sort of activities encourages institutionalised bullying? And is CCF still needed in this post war society?

Needed? No, they're not strictly necessary to the defence of the realm. But it can be a marvellous experience for teenage boys (and the girls too these days, no doubt), to have the opportunity to learn discipline and resilience, to have instilled in them a respect for institutions and authority, and have a jolly good time while they're at it doing the kind of things boys find fun.

I think this is particularly valuable at a time where children are becoming more sedentary than they have been in previous generations

Edit: Incidentally, I hope both criminal charges are pressed and substantial compensation rendered, and for the Army to take note of who these older boys are so it can be considered if they try to join the forces

(edited 9 years ago)

Reply 11

the mezzil

Ha ha. No.

The CCF does not promote bullying.

Posted from TSR Mobile

Reply 12

C_Richards99

Original post by Talon

Original post by Drewski

Needed as in necessary! Sorry for the poor choice of words. Is the skills gained from doing CCF exclusive to the CCF or can it be acquired elsewhere?

Reply 13

Drewski

Original post by C_Richards99

Needed as in necessary! Sorry for the poor choice of words. Is the skills gained from doing CCF exclusive to the CCF or can it be acquired elsewhere?

*are
*they

They can be acquired through any number of other means, but why should they? There are lots of youth groups out there, lots of sports clubs, lots of clubs and associations. They all exist because they cater for different tastes and styles and preferences. And there's nothing wrong with that whatsoever.

The various cadet forces organisations have, between them, a number roughly equal to the number of people in the Scout Association (of equivalent ages). Are they all bad things to be disbanded? That's half a million teenagers you're lumping into one category.