Royal Welsh Drama School Apologizes To Two Former Students After They Successfully Sued Over Its Handling Of Sexual Assault Complaints

deadline.com:

Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama, a prestigious UK drama school once attended by Anthony Hopkins, has apologized to two former students after they successfully sued over its handling of their sexual misconduct complaints.

In a landmark judgment on Thursday, the Central London County Court ruled that Royal Welsh failed to uphold its duty of care to Sydney Feder and Alyse McCamish after they informed the school that they were victims of sexual assault by the same male student. “We are sorry that the women involved in this case were hurt by aspects of the way the College responded to their complaints,” Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama (RWCMD) said in a statement following the ruling.

Handing down his judgment, Recorder John Halford said drama schools have a duty of care to students to carry out reasonable investigations when they receive allegations of sexual assault from their students.

In a statement, Feder said: “I hope that no student at RWCMD or any university has to go through what Alyse and I endured. Sadly, I have no confidence that RWCMD will not repeat their behaviour and I know of others who have suffered because their attitude towards sexual harassment.” McCamish added: “I am grateful for this judgment as we have been listened to and RWCMD have had to answer for their actions in court.” The ruling follows Deadline revealing widespread misconduct in UK drama schools and serious concerns among current and former students about how their complaints are dealt with.