Ex headteacher ‘downed eight glasses of wine on school trip before having “improper contact with pupils”
Students were left "shocked", "uncomfortable" and "awkward" as a result of Gillian Rew's behaviour, a disciplinary panel heard today
A FORMER headteacher has admitted drinking eight glasses of wine on a school trip before having "improper contact" with pupils.
Students were left "shocked", "uncomfortable" and "awkward" as a result of Gillian Rew's behaviour, a disciplinary panel heard today.
Mrs Rew, who was sacked from her £74,000-a-year post at Arboath High School, admitted the charges at the General Teaching Council for Scotland (GTCS) in Edinburgh.
They outline how the head became drunk before she "engaged in inappropriate conversations with, made inappropriate comments to and had improper contact with pupils" on a sixth-form trip to Lockerbie Manor.
As she admitted the charges it is unlikely details of what happened on the trip will be disclosed.
Police investigated the 49-year-old's behaviour but no criminal case was ever pursued against her.
Since the allegations came to light, social media has been flooded with rumour and speculation as to what happened on the trip.
One claimed: “Mrs Rew came to a party with us as well and k’oed on the couch, that’s the way teachers should be. Godbless Gillian Rew.”
Others defended their former headteacher, saying the claims were exaggerated and that she transformed the school and was great at her job.
One school girl said: “OMG Mrs Rew. She was suspended for being drunk at the residential. It’s so unfair. It’s not like she harmed any of us.”
Another schoolboy wrote: “Sacking Mrs Rew proves Angus Council have an absolute zero banter policy. The amount she did for the school was unreal and for her to go like that is tragic.”
Mrs Rew admitted she was "mortified" by her behaviour and said she was drinking too much at the time, partly as a result of working 14-hour days with hostile colleagues.
She is fighting to be allowed to stay on the teaching register, telling the hearing: "I believe I have a future in education."
The teacher added she did not think her pupils "would have been particularly alarmed" by the events in September 2014.
"I don't think they would have been particularly traumatised," she said. "I honestly don't think they were uncomfortable - I think they just thought it was a bit of light banter."
She also confirmed she stayed up until four in the morning and drank eight glasses of Sauvignon Blanc from a box in the night in question.
As a result, the teacher has no recollection of any of the misconduct.
After being questioned by GTCS case presenter Kate Hart she admitted this quantity - estimated to be just over one bottle of wine - had never made her blackout before.
Outlining the reasons for her conduct, Mrs Rew said she was dealing with issues with alcohol at the time and was in “great distress”.
She said: “I was drinking more alcohol than was good for me.”
She also said other members of staff were “behaving in a fashion that was hostile and undermining” to her role at the time.
And she outlined how she was working long days - starting at 7.45am and finishing at 7.00pm, before working for three more hours at home each night.
Discussing her decision to take wine on the school trip, she said: “I honestly don’t think that I was in a particularly good place to make proper cognitive decisions.”
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Seeking to remain on the register, Mrs Rew said said she had undergone therapy and alcohol counselling since the event.
She also said that she was “devastated” and “ashamed” by her actions, adding: “I hope there’s no lasting impact in the young people apart from the adverse publicity for the school.”
Mrs Rew - now employed by teaching union EIS - said: “My days of leading a school are gone.
“The most I would hope would be to retain my teaching registration.”
In the afternoon the panel heard from Andrena Waghorn, head teacher at Craigie High School in Dundee, who has known Mrs Rew for 20 years.
She said she is “professional, committed and enthusiastic” and “held in very high regard by her colleagues in Dundee.”
It is believed Angus Council became aware of Mrs Rew’s alleged drunken behaviour after receiving a complaint from a concerned parent.
She was suspended from her job shortly after the trip and a police investigation was launched.
The case was eventually dropped and prosecutors in Scotland declined to charge her.
The allegations in full against Mrs Rew state: “Whilst you were attending an S6 residential excursion at Lockerbie Manor, Lockerbie you did whilst having control of S6 pupils and also being the Child Protection Designated Officer for the excursion, consume alcohol and you were under the influence of alcohol.
“As a consequence of the above, you were in breach of Angus Council’s Child Protection Guidelines and Procedures for Educational Excursions.”
The charges add: “And, thereafter, whilst under the influence of alcohol, you engaged in inappropriate conversations with, made inappropriate comments to and had improper contact with pupils.
“In light of the above it is alleged that your fitness to teach is impaired and you are unfit to teach as a result of breaching…the General Teaching Council for Scotland’s Code of Professionalism and Conduct 2012.”
All points of the charges are admitted, apart from the declaration that she is unfit to teach.
The hearing continues.
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