St Joseph's School, Ashwicke Hall -- APPROVED-SCHOOLS

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Date Posted: 20:12:17 11/27/08 Thu
Author: L Brown
Subject: St Joseph's School, Ashwicke Hall

I as at St Joseph's School, Ashwicke Hall, Marshfield, Chippenam, Wilts for two years in the 1960s. I was sent there for being "in need of care and protection", basically because I ran away from home a few times and got into "bad company". No crime was committed.
It was a nightmare run by a megalomaniac nun who believed in almost ritualistic public humiliations. No-one was properly trained in those days in how to understand or deal with young people with problems. There was also a visiting priest who came to give us retreats aimed at helping us mature and gain self esteem. He sexually abused several girls and when one of them spoke about it, she was not believed and severely punished. He continued to visit the school.
Some of the staff and nuns were nice but the system was akin to Jane Eyre.
There was also great favouritism. One girl particularly, who was very pleasant,was treated differently to everyone else - and given respect. She was used by the nuns to keep order and grass on anyone who didn't keep the rules. This could be as simple as having a cigarette in the toilets or even talking on the way in to the dining room. She had been brainwashed into believing that the rules and regime were right and that she was right to back up the nuns in everything.
It was an unkind, bullying place, and many left there worse than they were when they went in.
Not many years after I left the system changed, it was no longer an approved school but a community home. It was easier, kinder, the girls received counselling and a lot of them enjoyed their time there.

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Replies:

Re: St Joseph's School, Ashwicke Hall -- cora o'hallloran (wronged!), 10:57:13 05/09/11 Mon
- Re: St Joseph's School, Ashwicke Hall -- alan briggs, 15:09:41 07/10/11 Sun
pfgflllcKNRfHwd -- qdtnfo (fbuZOCJtIyMdykehm), 00:38:17 06/28/11 Tue