§ Mr. William Hamiltonasked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a statement on the recent absconding of boys from the Corsbie Hall School in Fife; and whether he will institute an inquiry into the matter.
§ Mr. Gordon CampbellOn Friday, 5th May, four boys left Corsbie Hall School without permission at about 11.30 a.m. Within an hour, after an unsuccessful search by the school staff, the matter was reported to the police. The boys were located by the police on the central reservation of the motorway north of the Forth Road Bridge at about 4 p.m. They ran away across the road and unfortunately one boy, Thomas Conway, was struck and seriously injured by a passing car.
I should like to express my sympathy with the boy's parents at this unhappy outcome of what was apparently no more than a boyish escapade. I do not think that any blame can attach to the school—which of course does not and should not keep its pupils under lock and key. Nor do I consider that any further inquiry into the affair is needed.