School teacher arrested after alleged assault on teenage boy

Officers attended Perthshire school following claims of attack on pupil

A Perthshire teacher has been arrested in connection with an alleged assault on a pupil.

Police Scotland was called to the secondary school to investigate claims a youngster was attacked by a PE teacher.

The incident was said to have happened earlier this month in a school changing room, following a row over a deodorant spray.

Perth and Kinross Council would not say if the teacher had been suspended, although it is understood he is not currently working at the school, which cannot be named for legal reasons.

A police spokeswoman said: “A 55-year-old man has been arrested and charged in connection with an alleged assault at a Perthshire school on February 7.”

She said a report would be sent to the procurator fiscal.

A council spokeswoman added: “We can confirm that Police Scotland attended at the school. We do not comment on staffing matters, however we can say that we would support Police Scotland with any investigation.”

A parent told The Courier his son was a witness to the incident. “A teenage boy was spraying an aerosol in the faces of other pupils.

“When a teacher took this can off of the pupil, he was met with a tirade of verbal abuse.”

Meanwhile, in a separate incident, a 13-year-old pupil has been charged by police following a disturbance at the same school on Friday.

The council’s spokeswoman said: “We are aware of an incident which took place within the confines of the school premises on February 21.

“Appropriate action was taken by ourselves and colleagues at Police Scotland to resolve the issue and we are unable to make any further comment at this time.”

Police said the youngster had been charged with breach of the peace.

In a further incident, two days earlier, a 13-year-old school pupil was attacked in Blairgowrie’s Terminus Street.

He suffered concussion, bruising and a swollen jaw in the assault and was taken to Ninewells Hospital, in Dundee, for treatment.

Police said inquiries were ongoing “to establish the exact circumstances of the incident”.

A relative of the boy said he had suffered bullying for some time.