Teacher is struck off for ‘inappropriate behaviour’

Panel considered the pattern of behaviour involved one person and was historic

AN INVERCLYDE teacher acquitted of criminal charges of alleged sexual activity with a pupil is set to be struck off after a professional disciplinary probe found claims of inappropriate behaviour against him proven.

Physics master Iain Weir has been branded ‘unfit’ to continue in the profession following a six-day hearing conducted by the General Teaching Council Scotland (GTCS) in Edinburgh.

The case against Weir centred on a number of historical allegations which related to a period of time between August 1994 and June 1995 when the female pupil was aged between 15 and 16.

A serious allegation against Weir - that in February 1995 he drove the girl to Cornalees before kissing her and engaging in sexual activity with her while in his car was upheld by the GTCS.

The panel also found allegations that Weir repeatedly spent time alone in his classroom with the pupil, kissed her in the school gymnasium, repeatedly kissed her on the mouth and touched her inappropriately in his classroom to be proven.

The GTCS upheld claims that Weir had repeatedly engaged in conversations of a sexual nature with the pupil, given her lifts in his car and phoned her at her home when he knew her parents were not in.

In published findings, the panel determined that Weir’s conduct and fallen ‘significantly short’ of the standards expected of a registered teacher and said that he was ‘unfit to teach’.

The report states: “The panel determined that the allegations were very serious, but that the seriousness had not been increased by other aggravating factors.

“The panel had no evidence of any previous history of misconduct but concluded that the conduct found proven did amount to a pattern of behaviour. The panel considered that the pattern of behaviour involved just one person and was historic.”

Weir, who retired from teaching June 2017, denied all of the allegations against him.

The panel determined that Weir had not remedied his misconduct and that there ‘remained concerns for the protection of the public’.

The report adds: “The panel, having considered the conduct very serious, was not convinced the conduct was remediable in this case.

“There was no evidence of any remediation before the panel and no evidence that the teacher’s current circumstances or other factors might make the risk of reoccurrence unlikely.

“The panel also took into account that the teacher denied the allegations and maintained this position.

“The panel concluded that the teacher had failed to demonstrate insight.”

They stated that a fully informed member of the public would be ‘shocked’ by his misconduct and added that it could ‘undermine the public’s confidence’ in the profession.

Weir, who is now barred from making an application for re-registration for two years, has the right to appeal to the Court of Session against the panel’s decision.

The alleged victim, who read her witness statement aloud for the panel, told the hearing that she had been taught by Weir and that she had gone with a friend to get extra tuition from him.

She stated that she continued to go and see Weir after her friend stopped and that their conversations became more personal and began to involve writing notes and letters.

She claimed that Weir used the gym at the school and after she had told him she had feelings for him she had met Weir there and kissed him.

From there it was alleged that she and Weir began to kiss ‘every day’ in his classroom, with the teacher said to have closed the curtains over the windows of the room.

The former pupil described how, during the next school holidays, Weir had allegedly arranged to pick her up and when she got in his car, she found that the seat had been laid flat.

She claimed that he then drove her to Cornalees, near Greenock, and told her to move over, allegedly saying ‘I am coming over whether you like it or not’.

The pupil told the panel that in August or September 1995, Weir had told her that his wife was pregnant, at which point she realised he was not going to leave his wife and she became upset.

The report’s summary of evidence states: “Pupil A said that on and off over the years she had been in contact with the teacher, but nothing ever happened between them.

“She detailed this contact to the panel.

“She said that eventually she realised that what the teacher had done was wrong.

“She said she had been in denial prior to this.

“Pupil A explained that in January 2017 she opened up to her friend, Person 1, who asked her if she wanted her to call the police and she agreed, and the police were contacted.”

When contacted by the Telegraph about the panel’s findings, a lawyer representing Weir stated: “The allegations were previously the subject of criminal proceedings at Greenock Sheriff Court.

“Following a trial lasting five days, concluding in November 2017, the teacher was fully acquitted of all charges by Sheriff Daniel Kelly

“The teacher is being fully supported by his wife and family and steadfastly maintains his innocence.”