Who is ex Edinburgh Academy teacher Iain Wares and what has he been accused of?

IAIN WARES is the subject of a new Panorama documentary that explores his alleged victims’ campaign to bring him to justice.

My Teacher the Abuser: Fighting for Justice, directed by Matthew Hill, follows former pupils of the schools where Wares used to work as they fight for the ex-teacher to be extradited to the UK from South Africa.

Who is Iain Wares?

Iain Wares is a former teacher at the Edinburgh Academy and Fettes college who has been accused of abusing a number of his students in the 1960s and 1970s.

Before his retirement, he worked as a maths teacher and rugby coach.

MailOnline reported in March 2023 that Wares is living in a retirement village with his wife on South Africa’s Western Cape.

He has lived in South Africa since 1979 and has been accused of indecent abuse by a former pupil at Rondebosch Boys Prep School in the suburb of Cape Town.

This alleged abuse is said to have taken place in the 1990s.

Wares was formerly known only as “Edgar” in the press but was named after a judge ruled that his identity should be made public, following his arrest in South Africa for sex crimes there.

What is the Edinburgh Academy?

The Edinburgh Academy is an independent school in Edinburgh, Scotland, which opened in 1824.

It used to be an all-boys school but is now a co-educational establishment that welcomes pupils from the ages of two to 18 years old.

Fees for the Edinburgh Academy can cost as much as £14k a year in the primary school and £17k in the high school.

What has Iain Wares been accused of?

Wares is facing more than 80 historical abuse charges involving more than 40 alleged victims.

Some of his alleged victims are as young as nine.

He is fighting an extradition battle that could see him return to the UK to face trial.

In March 2023, however, his lawyers said he is unlikely to ever return to Britain due to his age.

BBC present Nicky Campbell has alleged he witnessed sexual abuse by Wares but was not abused by him himself.

The Long Lost Family host said he once saw Wares pull down a fellow pupil’s underwear and inappropriately touch him.

Campbell has compared Wares, who has been accused by dozens of former pupils, to prolific sex offender Jimmy Savile.

Wares taught at Edinburgh Academy for five years after initially travelling to Edinburgh from South Africa to seek psychological help for his “urges” to touch children.

He left in 1973 after parents filed a complained but was then hired by Fettes College. 

Wares later returned to South Africa, where he has also been accused of abuse.

Who was Hamish Dawson and how is he related to Iain Wares?

Hamish Dawson was a teacher at the Edinburgh Academy who died in 2009.

He has been accused of multiple instances of emotional and physical abuse on young boys.

One of his accusers is Nicky Campbell, who in August 2023 told the Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry about his experiences.

The presenter said that he is still “haunted” in the middle of the night by his days at the school, where he attended from the ages of five to 17.

How to watch My Teacher the Abuser: Fighting for Justice

My Teacher the Abuser: Fighting for Justice airs on BBC One on Thursday November 30 at 9pm.

The Panorama documentary is also available to stream on BBC iPlayer.