Deputy head, 50, moved girl pupil, 17, into his home after illicit kisses
A DEPUTY head teacher moved a pupil into his home after forming a ‘romantic’ relationship with her.
Ian Berstan, 50, struck up a ‘close personal relationship’ with the girl at Peterhead Academy in Aberdeenshire when she was aged between 15 and 16.
An official investigation revealed he knew she was attracted to him and he later went on to hug her and kiss her on the lips on many occasions when she was 16.
The inappropriate relationship was said to have started in 2020 and carried on until last December when he moved the girl, then 17, into his home temporarily.
Berstan, who taught modern studies before becoming a deputy head at the school, soon moved the teenager permanently into his house where he ‘formed and maintained’ a sexual relationship.
Berstan has now been banned from the classroom by teaching standards body the General Teaching Council for Scotland.
He agreed to a ‘removal with consent order’, meaning he admitted all the allegations levelled against him. However, the move saved him from having to face a public hearing which would have exposed more details about his inappropriate relationship.
The order, signed on August 11 this year, included the words: ‘Having left his employment in December 2021, in January 2022, the teacher did form and maintain a sexual relationship with Pupil A, then aged 17 and a pupil at the school and allow her to move permanently into his home.’
Berstan admitted that several of his actions were sexually motivated and that his fitness to teach is impaired. He will not be allowed to apply for his name to be put back on the teaching register for two years.
A spokesman for Aberdeenshire Council said: ‘We note the ruling by the General Teaching Council for Scotland that the teacher concerned has been removed from the teaching register. The safety and welfare of children in Aberdeenshire is always our priority and we can confirm that the person is no longer employed by us.’
A Police Scotland spokesman said: ‘Officers received a report of concern regarding the conduct of a staff member at Peterhead Academy. Inquiries were carried out and are now concluded. Nobody has been charged at this time.’
Approached yesterday as he pulled up outside his Banff house in a Tesco delivery van, Berstan said: ‘I refuse to answer any questions, for the sake of the rest of the family.’ He would not
confirm if he was still in a relationship with the teenager.