College rocked by sex scandal
MARLBOROUGH College has been rocked by another sex scandal just weeks before its first royal pupil is due to arrive.
The school's swimming pool manager Mark Davies, brother of the Olympic swimming star Sharron Davies, was arrested over allegations that pornography was found on his computer.
His arrest last week comes just as Princess Eugenie, daughter of the Duke of York and his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson, prepares to start at the £18,000-a-year public school in September.
A suite of rooms at Millmead House has been prepared for her and her team of protection officers amid high security, including the installation of CCTV cameras.
Mr Davies, 37, was arrested at his home in the town and is still being interviewed by police about allegations that pornography was found on his computer.
Police have declined to state whether the computer was at Davies' home or at his office in the school.
They said: "Wiltshire police can confirm that a 37-year-old man has been arrested in Marlborough in connection with indecent photographs and images. He has not been charged.
"Police inquiries are continuing and as proceedings are active no further comment will be made at this time."
Police have refused to expand on their statement other than to say the arrest was not part of the international Operation Ore child pornography investigation headed by the FBI in America.
College bursar David Williamson yesterday confirmed that a member of staff had been suspended following their arrest.
He said: "The school confirms that a member of the non-teaching staff was arrested on Wednesday August 6 on suspicion of possessing indecent photographs or images."
He said the member of staff had been released on bail by police but had been suspended by the school while the police investigations continued.
The college advertised the job of pool manager in the Gazette on July 24.
Sharron Davies visited the 855-pupil school in February to open its new multi-million pound swimming pool. Her brother, who is a twin, introduced her to celebrity guests before she formally opened the pool.
The event was not covered by any media because the master of the college, Edward Gould, banned all press from the school after a number of headline stories about drugs and sex.
In May last year the national media ran the story of maths teacher Richard Jowett who watched a porn film on his laptop computer while invigilating an exam, unaware that his computer was plugged into an overhead screen which the students were watching.
There had been a series of scandals involving the school believed to be one of the top half dozen public schools in the country before Mr Gould arrived ten years ago.
One controversy that received national publicity was the claim that the college doctor was giving girl students the morning-after pill without the knowledge of their parents.
Mr Gould was brought in by the college council, its governing body, with strict instructions to clean up the school's tattered reputation.
The master is due to retire next July and the college has named his successor as Nicholas Sampson, who is currently head of Australia's premier public school, Geelong Grammar, which The Prince of Wales once attended for a term.
Princess Eugenie, is the elder of Prince Andrew and the Duchess of York's two daughters.
The 12-year-old is sixth in line to the throne.
The college's past students include Capt Mark Phillips, who later became the first husband of Princess Anne, a clutch of famous politicians, and numerous well-known poets including Siegfried Sassoon and the late poet laureate John Betjeman, and singer Chris de Burgh.