FORMER RELIGION PRINCIPAL ON THE BUST-UP OVER
Sunday Mail email
Daniel Goodey was awarded £60,000 by an employment tribunal which found he had been forced to resign by the High School of Dundee following the incident.
The 58-year-old left after a series of meetings described as “extremely threatening and unpleasant” with rector John Halliday in which he refused to apologise to the girl.
Now the former principal teacher of religious, moral and philosophical studies has claimed the historic £13,000-a-year school’s management style triggered depression and anxiety problems.
He also claims former colleagues had quit the school after being left “emotionally wrecked” by its ruling culture.
Perthshire-based Daniel said: “The anxiety, hurt and depression caused by the host i le atmosphere I experienced in the school, and the lies and distortions used to justify the school’s actions, have had a severe impact on me and my family.
“I’m very pleased and relieved at the judgment but I’m also very sad for the school, which has been such a major part of my life and my family’s over a 14-year period.
“I believe the leadership and managerial style, which was the focus of the judgment, has been responsible for the loss of many excellent teachers over the last decade.”
Daniel insisted one of the reasons for bringing the case was “to try to stop it happening to others in the future” at the school, whose former pupils include author AL Kennedy, BBC journalists Andrew Marr and Brian Taylor, rugby star David Leslie and music stars KT Tunstall and Deacon Blue’s Ricky Ross.
He added: “I’m only beginning to understand the extent of the harm experienced by so many at the school.
“Several teachers have contacted me following the judgment, thanking me for taking action. “They’ d lef t under simi lar circumstances, believing that they were alone in their experiences. “It’s a relief for them to know that the behaviour of senior staff has been recognised.”
Daniel ’ s career hit trouble when he told off a girl for not completing an assignment.
She got annoyed when told to f inish it with a classmate.
The tribunal was told that Daniel “sighed in