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Kings School principal apologises for his failures at Knox royal commission.

The Kings School headmaster has written of his deep regrets regarding the Knox sexual abuse inquest.

The headmaster of elite boys’ school Kings has written a heartfelt letter to the parents of his students, telling them of his regrets during his time as a teacher at the prestigious boys school Knox Grammar School, in Sydney’s north.

In the letter, headmaster Tim Hawkes also apologised for his comments at the recent Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sex Abuse.

The Kings School headmaster, Tim Hawkes. (Photo: The Kings School/Facebook)

Mr Hawkes appeared as a witness at the royal commission, and later told the media he had no regrets about his actions 30 years ago when he failed to report the sexual abuse of a young boarder.

Related content: Knox Grammar – a legacy of shame, angst and depression.

He has since written to parents apologising for his insensitivity.

Fairfax Media reports Dr Hawkes said he has “thousands” of regrets, and told of wanting to go back and change these moments.

Knox Grammar School has been the subject of a Royal Commission into Institutional Responses into Child Sex Abuse.

Fairfax Media obtained a copy of the letter, which reads:

“There are moments in your life that you wish you could go back and change.

“There are moments when you cannot believe your stupidity. There are moments when you want to run away.

“I was met with such a moment last week when being pounced on by the media when leaving the Royal Commission looking into the Knox case. How on earth can you disentangle the appalling impression given that, ‘I had no regrets’ in relation to a Knox matter some 27 years ago.

”Regrets! I have thousands.

“My heart breaks for the boys whose trust in some Knox staff was betrayed. I, along with much of Australia, have been appalled at the revelations coming out of the Royal Commission. Regrets? None of it should ever have happened.
I can make no excuses for my comment. I was tired after three hours in the witness box. I was alarmed – even frightened by being ambushed by the media scrum, and greatly angered by the hostility of their questions.

“I should have said absolutely nothing. What I tried to say was that I had no sense of not having done the right thing by reporting the matter to the headmaster at the time. However – it did not come out that way, and people, quite rightly, were appalled at the apparent heartlessness of my comment.

”The media have offered to re-interview me. That is kind, but it will come across as a revisionist attempt by me to make me look good – and that thought appalls me.

“Regrets? Absolutely! Regrets for an insensitive remark – yes  – but even more so, for the things that happened at Knox. There needs to be justice given, care provided and lessons learnt – not least, by me.”

The hearings are looking at the way Knox Grammar handled complaints of inappropriate conduct by teachers over more than 30 years, between 1970 and 2003.

Related Content: Knox Grammar: A legacy of shame, angst and depression.

Last week, the inquiry was told five Knox teachers had been convicted of child sex offences, and there was evidence three other teachers were involved in inappropriate conduct, ABC News reports.

The royal commission will complete its work in December 2017 and provide recommendations to government.

If you or another adult you know was sexually abused as a child call ASCA on 1300 657 380.

Related content: Lisa Wilkinson is “appalled” that ribbons to honour Knox assault victims were removed.