Yes, this is an “underperforming” school. Lack of supervision may be part of the reason.
But there’s something off about this story. The girls were 12 and 13, the boys 13 and 14. I’m not getting a coercion vibe from this. Not for an entire hour of rape. Unless they were bound and gagged, but the Daily Mail didn’t say that, and they of all news outlets would not fail to supply such gory details.
That suspension for the boys is apparently questionable would seem to throw coercion into doubt, so maybe your “vibe” is right. As disagreeable as the notion may be, possibly the girls have claimed rape in an attempt to keep themselves out of trouble? That won’t be a popular conclusion, despite ample evidence that our corrosively sexualized culture is corrupting even young children, let alone teens.