London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Friday, Aug 28, 2026

Chetham's School of Music 'facilitated sexual abuse of pupil'

Chetham's School of Music 'facilitated sexual abuse of pupil'

A prestigious music school has said it will "remain forever sorry" after a High Court judge found the institution "facilitated" the sexual abuse of a former pupil by one of her teachers.

Chetham's School of Music (CSM) was ordered to pay £45,000 to the woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons.

It comes after a judge found the school was "vicariously liable" for assaults by her violin teacher, Wen Zhou Li.

The woman alleged she was assaulted at the school in Manchester in the 1990s.

Mr Li, who denies the allegations, was previously charged with one count of rape and two counts of indecent assault but charges were dropped when prosecutors offered no evidence in 2016.

The woman, known by the pseudonym "Abigail", then brought a civil claim against the school.


Following a hearing in March, Mr Justice Fordham found the assaults took place to the civil standard and that CSM "created or significantly enhanced" the risk she would be abused.

The civil standard requires a court to find it was more likely that an allegation is true as opposed to the criminal standard which requires a jury to be sure, also known as beyond reasonable doubt.

The judge found there was a "strong causative link" between Mr Li's employment by CSM and his sexual assaults.

He said: "The employment relationship between CSM and Mr Li caused Mr Li to have access to Abigail, in circumstances where sexual abuse was facilitated.

Following the ruling, CSM said it "carries a sense of deep regret and sorrow for the way in which some former teachers at our school betrayed and manipulated the trust that had been placed in them".

The school's former music director Michael Brewer was jailed in 2013 after he was convicted of indecently assaulting a former pupil in the 1980s.

CSM said it was supporting the ongoing independent inquiry into child sexual abuse to "share lessons learnt from our experiences".

The spokesman continued: "Chetham's today is a place where care for student wellbeing is our number one priority."

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Police Intensify Investigation Into Organised Crime-Linked Violence in Middlesbrough
UK Small Businesses Face Continued Revenue and Tax Pressures, Federation Says
M&G Real Estate Buys West Sussex Affordable Housing Portfolio for £29 Million
Royal Navy Warship HMS Tamar Visits Cambodia for Regional Security Engagement
UK Government Brings Forward Benefit Payments Ahead of August Bank Holiday
Four Men Plead Guilty to Arson Attack on Jewish Community Ambulances in North London
Ofgem Raises Great Britain’s Household Energy Price Cap by Four Percent From October
UK Government Rejects Green Party Call for Artificial Intelligence Datacentre Moratorium
Millions of UK Benefit Recipients Receive Payments Early Ahead of August Bank Holiday
UK Prime Minister Meets Northern Ireland Leaders in Belfast Over Budget Crisis
Crypto Tax Gains Reach One Point Three Eight Billion Pounds Among UK Investors, HMRC Data Shows
UK Corporate Confidence Rises to Highest Level Since March, Lloyds Survey Shows
Mike Ashley Attacks UK Government Business Rates and Cost-of-Living Policies
Scottish Universities Face Two Hundred Million Pound Annual Funding Gap, Report Warns
Entertainment Figures Urge UK Government to Protect People From AI Voice Cloning
Manchester Airports Group Confirms Customer Data Breached in Cyberattack
Seven Charged Over Vandalism at Donald Trump’s Turnberry Golf Resort in Scotland
Nearly 23,000 UK Households Expected to Move Home on Busiest Day of 2026
UK Benefit Payments to Arrive Early Ahead of August Bank Holiday
Reform UK Pledges to Replace GDPR and Cut Tax Administration Red Tape
Andy Burnham Launches Work Experience Plan for One Million Young People Outside Education or Work
Andy Burnham Faces Labour Backlash After Dropping Support for Political Donations Cap
Andy Burnham Announces UK-Wide Summit With Leaders of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland
Met Office Warns of Heavy Rain and Flood Risk Across England and Wales After Summer Heat
Bank of England Warns AI Adoption Could Reduce Demand for Automatable Jobs
UK Confirms National Salmonella Outbreak With More Than 200 Cases
UK Airports Handle Record 81 Million Passengers Despite Middle East Disruption
Ofgem Raises UK Energy Price Cap by Four Percent to £1,723
Cyber Attack Hits Customer Data Systems at Manchester, Stansted and East Midlands Airports
TSA Unveils Major Airport-Security Overhaul as It Drops Gold+ Privatization Plan
CIA Chief Warned Russia Against Attacking NATO in Secret Moscow Mission
Raheem Sterling Charged With Dangerous Driving After Lamborghini Crash
The Secret Dolly Parton Kept Until Her Death: "She Was Much Sicker Than She Let On"
Middlesbrough House Fire Kills Woman and Seven-Year-Old Girl
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle Return to UK Amid Renewed Media Attention
Raheem Sterling Charged With Dangerous Driving After London Collision
Greenpeace Threatens Legal Action Over Crown Estate Offshore Wind Leasing
Nvidia Revenue Surges to Ninety-Six Point Two Billion Dollars on Artificial Intelligence Demand
Meta Agrees to Global Youth Safety Changes Following Multi-State Legal Settlement
UK Government Plans Autumn Summit With Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish Leaders
CMA Caps Veterinary Prescription Fees at Twenty-One Pounds
Thames Water Pilot Records Forever Chemicals at Thirteen Times the Legal Limit
Kent Meningitis Outbreak Reaches Thirty-Four Confirmed Cases
Forty Children Missing From UK Asylum Accommodation Remain Unaccounted For
UK Court Upholds VAT on Private School Fees
US Designates Palestine Action as Foreign Terrorist Organization
UK Approves Massive New Chinese Embassy Complex in London Amid Security Concerns
Prime Minister Andy Burnham Visits Kyiv and Offers Cruise Missile Designs to Ukraine
Glacier Collapse, Not Earthquake, Triggered Deadly Nepal-Tibet Flood
Andy Burnham Drops Plan to Cap Political Donations
×