A British inquiry concluded today that sexual abuse at two leading Roman Catholic schools in Britain was considerably higher than is reflected by conviction figures, with monks hiding allegations to protect the church's reputation. The Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse issued a scathing report saying that monks at Ampleforth in North Yorkshire and Downside in Somerset hid allegations of "appalling sexual abuse" against pupils as young as 7. Ten people linked to the schools have been cautioned over or convicted of sexual activity or pornography offenses involving a "large number of children."

"The true scale of the abuse however is likely to be considerably higher," said Professor Alexis Jay, the inquiry chair. Ampleforth accepted responsibility for past failures and thanked Jay for her work. "We?would also like to once again?offer our heartfelt apology to anyone who suffered abuse while?in the care of our schools, parishes or other ministries," it said in a statement. Downside didn't immediately comment.