An independent inquiry into child sexual abuse at schools will examine the Yehudi Menuhin School (YMS) in Stoke d'Abernon, starting on Monday (September 30).

The investigation is being run by the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA), a non-governmental inquiry first launched in 2014 with the support of then Home Secretary Theresa May.

It was set up to "understand how institutions have failed to protect children from sexual abuse and make practical recommendations to ensure better institutional protection for children in the future" according to the IICSA website.

Responding to a request for the Surrey Comet, a spokesperson for the IICSA confirmed that the YMS is one of several schools set to be examined during the proceedings.

The first week of the inquiry will focus on residential special schools like YMS, with Chetham’s School of Music, Wells Cathedral School, and Purcell School also due to face scrutiny.

A Channel 4 news report previously revealed allegations that the late pianist Marcel Gazelle, the founding music director of YMS, sexually abused pupils during the 1960s.

The IICSA say that children in residential special schools like YMS "are particularly vulnerable to sexual abuse as a result of their isolation from their families and carers, as well as the involvement of staff in their personal care."

Methods such schools use that are expected to come under scrutiny will include one-to-one tuition, the intimate atmosphere and imbalance of power in teacher/pupil relationships that IICSA say arise from the schools' "specialist nature".

The inquiry hopes to examine whether more action is needed in order to protect children studying at specialist schools like YMS.

On the first day of the inquiry, a written narrative of child sexual abuse at eight institutions which have since closed will be submitted. This document includes accounts from 50 victims and survivors and "will provide a historical background to child sexual abuse and institutional failures across the school sector," IICSA said.

The hearing will take place from 10am to 4.15pm at the Inquiry’s hearing centre, 18 Pocock Street, London

Public hearings will be streamed ‘live’ (subject to a three minute delay) on the Inquiry’s YouTube channel and website.