School abuse survivors take legal action against Liverpool City Council 

Staff allegedly sexually, physically, emotionally and verbally abused the men who were all between the age of 10 and 12 when they say the abuse began. 

Lower Lee School was for boys deemed to have behavioural difficulties and closed in 2009. 

Former staff members Peter Amunsden and Tom Curbishley were convicted of abusing pupils, while other alleged abusers have not faced criminal charges or have since died. The men taking action against Liverpool City Council were boarders at the school in the 1970s and 1980s and say they were subject to sexual, physical, emotional and verbal abuse at the hands of Lower Lee staff including Amunsden and Curbishley. 

Amundsen was head of care at the school and pleaded guilty to 53 offences over almost 20 years. His crimes involved eight boys aged between 12 and 15 years. He was sentenced to 12 years in prison in 1999.  

The BBC reported that Liverpool Crown Court heard Amundsen was hired despite having no qualifications and being mentally ill. Judge Denis Clark told the court there had been no adequate system of staff monitoring or scrutiny and checks of applicants. 

Curbishley, a former child care officer at the school, was also sentenced for offences he committed against former pupils. 

The four men have instructed Leigh Day abuse team partner Dino Nocivelli to represent them in their civil claim against the Liverpool City Council which ran Lower Lee School. A trial is expected to take place in May 2026.

Dino Nocivelli, partner in the abuse team, said: 

“What is alleged to have happened at Lower Lee school is one of the worst cases I have seen.  

“My clients were vulnerable children with perceived behavioural difficulties who were owed a duty of care. Instead, they say they were subject to routine sexual and physical abuse by staff members and made to fear the people meant to care for them. 

“They deserve answers as to how someone like Peter Amundsen was able to get a job at the school despite, as the judge who sentenced him stated, having no qualifications to do the job as head of care. 

“My clients seek justice for what they suffered and want Liverpool City Council to accept accountability for the abuse that allegedly happened under their watch.” 

“To date and despite a public apology by the council, my clients continue to wait for personal apologies and face a trial in the High Court in May 2026 to finally obtain a sense of justice and closure.”