ONE of the country's top private schools is at the centre of a police probe into historic abuse of former pupils.

A Sunday publication revealed that a series of allegations of sexual misconduct by staff -- and governors -- had been made about Fettes College in Edinburgh.

The abuse is said to relate to alleged incidents spanning from the mid-80s to the early 2000s.

It was reported that names passed to police are believed to include some linked to the so-called "Magic Circle" scandal of the early 1990s.

A spokeswoman for Police Scotland said: "We can confirm that an investigation has been carried out into reports of non-recent abuse at Fettes College and it is the intention to report the circumstances to the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service."

A spokesman for Fettes reportedly said: "Police have carried out investigations into allegations of non-recent abuse. Fettes college have cooperated fully with their inquiries."

The prestigious school counts Tony Blair as a former pupil and together with Gordonstoun in Moray and Merchiston Castle, also in Edinburgh, as the most expensive in Scotland.

Fees for the year are more the £30,000 for boarders at the senior school.

Both Gordonstoun and Merchiston Castle have also been implicated in abuse in abuse scandals, arising from a wide-reaching police probe into allegations of systematic abuse of pupils.

At Merchiston Castle, two men in their 60s have been charged following reports of non-recent abuse dating back to the 1960s.

Meanwhile, former pupils of Gordonstoun have made claims of sexual abuse by ex-teachers, with one former pupil alleging to have been raped at the junior school.