£200,000 for abuse by headmaster

Eight former pupils at a leading prep school which the Countess of Wessex attended have been paid more than £200,000 in compensation for sexual molestation by an old headmaster while they were there.

Weeks before the case was to be heard at the High Court, an out-of-court settlement was reached in which some pupils at Dulwich Preparatory School received up to £75,000 for indecent assault by former headmaster Robin Peverett.

The pupils began a group action claiming that the school failed in its basic duty of care after Peverett was given an 18-month suspended sentence two years ago following his guilty plea to nine charges of indecent assault between 1969 and 1977.

Although Judge David Griffiths said he was guilty of an "appalling abuse of a position of immense trust," his victims and their families were furious at the sentence. Peverett could have been jailed for up to 10 years. Yesterday his victims and their solicitor reached a settlement after nine hours of negotiations in London with representatives of the school governors and their lawyers.

The settlement could pave the way for other pupils to sue if they feel their school failed to protect them from abusive staff.

Peverett ' s trial heard that he would put children across his knee and smack them and that he would order them to go to his private quarters in their pyjamas where he would abuse them.

The group claimed they suffered from psychological distress because of the abuse and as a result some of them performed badly in exams. They said school staff must have known of Peverett's behaviour but did nothing, even when a complaint was lodged in 1975.

Former pupil Jo Evans said she was devastated that Peverett avoided a jail sentence. She told how she burst into tears when she saw him on television talking about the marriage of her schoolfriend Sophie Rhys-Jones, to Prince Edward.

There was never any suggestion that the Countess of Wessex was abused by Peverett.

Mrs Evans's decision to go to the police encouraged other abused pupils to come forward but police say the true number of Peverett's victims may never be known.

He remained as headmaster until 1990 and was awarded the OBE for services to education. After his trial the Attorney-General referred the case to the Appeal Court but an application to increase his sentence was turned down on the basis that barristers had been involved in plea bargaining.

Apart from Mrs Evans, 37, from Crawley, West Sussex, other pupils involved in the joint action were: Stephen Harman,48, from Herne Bay, Kent; Vicky Bennison, 43, from Chiswick; Karen McDermott, 42, from Hexham, Northumberland; Carole Beattie, 41, from Benenden, Kent; Mark Brown, 41, from Southwark, and Judy Marks, 42, from Rochdale, Lancashire. The victims waived their right to anonymity.