By Sheila Mckenzie-
Charles Spencer(pictured) said he was abused in boarding school as a young child. He said he was targeted by a female teacher at the school
In an extract from his memoir, published in the Mail on Sunday, Charles Spencer said he was targeted by a female member of staff at Maidwell Hall, Northamptonshire in the 1970s.
Spencer attended Maidwell Hall between the ages of eight and 13.
In his new book A Very Private School, he alleges that a female staff member, whom he described as a “voracious paedophile”, groomed and abused him and other young boys in their dormitory beds at night. He said it involved french kissing and touching.
Then, on a trip to Italy with his mother and step-father, he spotted a short-skirted sex worker standing on a corner and used his pocket money to pay her about £15 for sex.
He said it left him feeling “hollow and cold” and he did not sleep with another woman until he was 17.
He also alleged the school’s then headmaster, John Porch, inflicted “brutal beatings” and he believed the teacher gained “sexual pleasure from the violence”. Mr Porch died in January 2022, according to an obituary in his old college newsletter.
He described reliving his time at Maidwell as an “absolutely hellish experience”.
In a statement to the Mail, Maidwell School said: “It is difficult to read about practices which were, sadly, sometimes believed to be normal and acceptable at that time.
“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.”
After his time at Maidwell, he attended Eton College.
Now 59, he alleges the abuse began when he was just 11 years old.
Maidwell Hall said it was “sobering” to learn of Earl Spencer’s experiences. The school said allegations of sexual abuse had been referred to a “local authority designated officer”.
After his time at Maidwell, he attended Eton College.