The statue can be seen in Edinburgh's West Princes Street Gardens. It was erected in 1910. The statue depicts Dr Thomas Guthrie and the institutions with which he was associated. The inscription describes his Christian charity for a school for boys and girls.

Dr Guthrie's Boys' and Girls' School.

These institutions are well known to the people of Edinburgh and are derisively referred to in the Scottish media and on the internet as,

                  Dr Guthrie's Ragged Schools - Exclusively for the Impoverished.

The abuse, cruelty and suffering inflicted on the children who attended these schools is completely unknown to the people of Scotland. Far from being Christian orphanages, the schools were more like concentration camps. Many hundreds, if not thousands, of children were sexually abused and tortured in the institutions this statue honours.

This statue is deeply disturbing to the abused children who attended Dr Guthrie's schools. The statue is very upsetting to survivors, and it is even more upsetting to us because the general public has no understanding of what his schools were like, and we believe the statue gives a misleading impression.

Dr Guthrie's Boys' and Girls' School in Edinburgh was a nightmare for me and for others. As a former pupil of one of the schools, I am reminded of how bad Dr Guthrie's Boys' School was every time I visit Edinburgh and walk down Princes Street. If I wanted to remember how awful the schools were, I would drive past or visit one of them.

When I'm in Edinburgh and I see the monument, I don't understand why I should be forced to have flashbacks to bad childhood experiences.

This statue should be removed from Princes Street and placed in a museum or the grounds of a church. It could be replaced by a statue of children who have been harmed in care.

For many of us, the damage has already been done. However, it would be a great outcome if we could win the petition and have Dr Guthrie's Ragged Schools labelled a den of child abuse. We are simply expressing our concerns about being exposed to a sculpture that we find deeply unsettling.

I have already petitioned the Scottish Parliament and was turned down. They told me it was a local issue and told me I had to contact Edinburgh City Council. When I contacted Edinburgh City Council I was told that I had to be a resident of Edinburgh.

I am not a resident of Edinburgh so I asked Change Org and they have accepted my petition.

This petition now calls for the statue to be removed.

https://www.drguthrieschools.co.uk/