A man who endured an attempted rape by a teacher at a top private school embroiled in a historical sexual abuse scandal has broken his silence of almost 50 years.
John Graham started at Edinburgh Academy in 1978 "as a happy 11-year-old" but immediately experienced beatings and punishments from those in charge.
However, it wasn't until Mr Graham's fourth year that his teacher Hamish Dawson, who died in 2009, tried to rape him when he was just 14 years old.
Now the 56-year-old is among the former pupils who have joined BBC presenter Nicky Campbell in his fight to bring another ex-teacher to justice.
Mr Graham, who has waived his anonymity in the hope of encouraging other survivors of abuse to speak out, has recalled the day the incident happened.
He said: "It was after a Saturday morning detention and there were three other boys with me at the time.
"After detention, we had some work to do so we stayed in the classroom.
"One of the boys was excused to go to the toilet, before Dawson asked me to go into his office to check his work.
"I went in and put my work on his desk, when I remember him draping his arms around my neck with his head on my shoulder.
"He pulled me towards him and I felt his erection before his hands went down to my trousers to try and unbuckle my belt.
"I said if he touched me again I'd tell my older brother and when he let go I ran - as fast as I could - maybe a mile and a half before bursting back into the house and up to my dorm.
"I was howling, because I didn't understand what had happened."
After reporting the incident to the school, Mr Graham was moved to a senior house at the premises, while no further action was taken against Dawson.
The rest of Mr Graham's school days were a "living hell" so much so that he thought he'd have to run away.
Mr Graham, a father-of-one, kept his harrowing ordeal bottled up for 44 years, until last year, after a seemingly harmless prank by his wife of 25 years.
"We always play silly games," said Mr Graham, who lives in Rackheath.
"One thing she liked to do was come up behind me, pinch my behind while saying 'you public schoolboys like it like this' and usually I'd be able to spin away and laugh it off.
"But once she caught me in the corner of the kitchen so I couldn't turn left or right and in that moment, I turned back into that 14-year-old boy again with Dawson behind me.
"At that moment I burst into tears."
The relief of letting out such a dark secret to his wife coincided with one of his school friends telling him to watch one of Nicky Campbell's documentaries and contacting him.
Mr Graham - who has lived in Norfolk for much of his life - received a reply from the presenter the very next day and was introduced to a WhatsApp group of other Edinburgh Academy survivors.
An examination of facts hearing is currently being heard at Edinburgh Sheriff Court against another ex-teacher, John Brownlee, 89, who has been deemed unfit to stand trial for allegedly mistreating pupils over a 20-year period.
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Mr Graham, who has worked in car sales previously, gave evidence ahead of the hearing and wants to help others stand up for themselves.
Mr Graham said: "I reported attempted sexual abuse and the school punished me, making my life a living hell.
"It was shameful and horrific what these men did.
"I'm speaking out because things like this happen all too often and people stay silent, but I want to get the truth out.
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"I think I got away quite easily compared to what some of the guys have told me.
"However we're getting there together and with help."
The Edinburgh Academy scandal
In August last year, Edinburgh Academy apologised for the "brutal and unrestrained" historical abuse after nearly 50 witnesses gave evidence against 20 teaching staff after broadcaster Nicky Campbell spoke in July 2022 about the abuse he suffered.
Mr Campbell told listeners of his BBC Radio Five Live show: "There was a teacher, Hamish Dawson, who is now dead, who had regularly wandering hands.
"Many of us were on the receiving end - we were 12."
In the apology, the school acknowledged the "brutal and unrestrained" violence and admitted "serious sexual abuse was widespread".
Mr Campbell also released a BBC Panorama programme on the matter called 'My Teacher the Abuser: Fighting for Justice'.
The current hearing is about former teacher John Brownlee, who is deemed medically unfit to stand trial for allegedly mistreating 38 pupils between 1967 and 1987.
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The hearing is being held without a jury, with a judge to deliver his judgement after hearing evidence from the prosecution and defence.
The Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry was established in 2015, with Edinburgh Academy among the boarding schools involved.
The school's current leadership has "committed to supporting former pupils" and said it "unreservedly apologises" for failing to protect pupils in the past.
There are several organisations and charities which can provide support with reporting sexual abuse, with Norfolk County Council listing The Harbour Centre, Norfolk and Suffolk Victim Care and Sue Lambert Trust among them on a dedicated page on their website.
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