Deputy head sacked for ‘leaving pupil alone so he could ride roller coaster’
A THRILL-SEEKING deputy headteacher ‘ abandoned’ a young boy so he could ride the UK’s top wooden roller coaster four times, a disciplinary panel heard.
Michael davies was sacked after leaving the ten-year-old – who was too short for the ride – alone at the gate during a school trip to a theme park, the panel was told.
The teacher left the boy for 20 minutes while he and four other pupils enjoyed ‘Megafobia’ – once rated the top ride in the country. He now faces being struck off after the school trip to Oakwood theme park in Pembrokeshire, West Wales, in June 2014.
But yesterday Mr davies made a series of extraordinary claims that he was sacked to silence him over allegations the school’s headteacher had been sleeping with members of staff.
He said fellow teachers at Caerau Primary in Maesteg, Bridgend, had ‘made up stuff’ about his conduct.
The theme park says Megafobia is ‘famed as one of the wildest wooden coasters on the planet’.
The ride – which is nearly 1,100 yards long, 85ft high and reaches speeds of 50mph – was voted the third-best ride in the world by the Roller Coaster Club of Great Britain.
Fellow teacher Julia Roche told the hearing she saw Mr davies walk towards the ride with five pupils. But one of them – named only as Pupil A – was too short when he measured up to the health and safety height chart.
Mrs Roche said: ‘ Before the trip, Michael davies spoke to all the staff attending the trip regarding health and safety and how staff should behave.’
But she added: ‘Mr davies told the pupil he was too short to go on the ride and said he should stay where he was to practise measuring his height. Michael davies then left the pupil and went to queue for the ride.
‘I tried to speak to him after he came off the ride but he was dismissive of me. He walked away with the children. I do find it concerning as a parent. I wouldn’t want my child unsupervised in a theme park.’
Mr davies, 39, denied leaving the boy – who has spinal problems and a metal rod in his back – alone at the theme park and said the pupil had been with another teacher. He said the allegations against him were part of a ‘conspiracy’ to get him out of the profession after claims
‘He went on it four times’
headteacher John Bibby had been ‘sleeping’ with other members of staff.
‘There are people in that school who have come together and made up stuff about my conduct,’ he said. ‘A colleague had been sharing with me how John had been with several female members of staff over the years.
‘These people thought if they could get rid of me, I’d keep quiet. I came out as a gay man when I was 25. Before, I was living a lie. I will not lie again.’
He added: ‘ That child was happy on the trip. There is no question of him being left alone.
‘When we arrived at Megafobia another teacher was waiting for one of her pupils. I left him with her. When we finished, I collected him. It was never mentioned there was a problem.
‘I know he was supervised properly because of the person that I am, and knowing how important it is that all children are looked after and are safe.’ david Browne, representing Mr davies, said he had not left the pupil alone – but close to other teachers.
He said to Mrs Roche: ‘ You were in the vicinity, he was with you.’ But she replied: ‘ Had he wanted me to look after Pupil A, I would have.’
An independent investigation was launched by lawyer dr Peter Ellis, who interviewed more than 20 staff members. He told the panel of the Education Workforce Council in Cardiff: ‘ One witness said he went on four times, going round and round.’
He added: ‘If that child was in his group, he should have made arrangements for that child to be looked after.’ Mr davies denies unacceptable professional conduct. The hearing continues.