A headteacher has issued a heartfelt apology after his comments about the victim of sexual assault sparked a storm of outraged allegations of "victim shaming".
Tim Gibbs of Reepham High said it was "absolutely not" his intention to imply a former pupil who reported a string of incidents was in any way to blame for what happened.
His comments came after the school was one of 38 Norfolk schools named by victims of sexual assaults - and saw the headteacher accused of victim-blaming.
And after people contacted both this newspaper and the school itself in the aftermath of his comments, Mr Gibbs has issued a full apology.
He said: “I apologise unequivocally that my comments apportioned blame to the brave former Reepham High School student who came forward to tell her story.
“This was absolutely not my intention - it was never at any time in my thoughts that she was in any way to blame.
"I intended my comment to convey my dismay at how she was repeatedly put in such a vulnerable position and the traumatic impact this must have had and continues to have upon her."
Last week 38 Norfolk schools were namechecked by alleged victims of sexual assault, when online abuse-reporting platform Everyone's Invited unveiled a list of 2,962 schools attended by those who have come forward.
A former Reepham High School pupil wrote that she and "the majority" of her female friends experienced sexual assault or rape, and detailed a "series of abuses" at sleepovers and parties which took place while she was at the school. The alleged offences did not take place in a school setting.
In her post she criticised the school's sex education policy and called on teachers to "please educate your students, all your students, on the importance of consent and the complexities of consent".
Speaking to this newspaper Reepham headteacher Tim Gibbs spoke of the school's commitment to getting relationship education and sex education right.
His comments began: "It's horrible to hear that she has put herself in such a vulnerable position at these 'parties' time and time again and I expect she will be upset by it for a very long time".
Readers contacted the school and this paper to express their disgust at his comments.
Susan Wilkinson, specialist senior child and educational psychologist at the Child and Educational Psychology Practice (CEPP), said: "I worry about the impact of the victim in this instance reading an unchallenged piece suggesting she was to blame for what happened to her."
And Danny Chapman added: "I assume he feels the same for all the boys that also put themselves in whatever this position is going to parties as well. That is victim shaming."
Today Mr Gibbs told this newspaper he was deeply sorry for the comment.
He said: "I accept my mistake in the specific language I used and I am sorry for that.
"This young girl was the victim of others' unacceptable behaviour and the blame lies entirely with those who carried out the acts. I think this demonstrates just how important it is to be utterly precise with language and how important the work we are doing at school on this issue is.
“I'd like to remind all the parents and carers and students at our school that, led by our safeguarding team, our staff do work tirelessly to support all of our children; their safety is our most important concern.
“We will continue to take any allegations of sexual abuse brought to our notice extremely seriously.”
Comments on this article have been disabled for legal reasons. If you have a story i connection with this issue please email joel.adams@archant.co.uk.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here