Head teacher ate raw garlic to disguise smell of alcohol

A DRUNKEN head teacher chewed raw garlic to cover the smell of alcohol on his breath before Ofsted visits, a misconduct hearing has been told.

Jeremy Tucker, 64, chewed mints when he turned up at school “stinking of booze” and would eat raw bulbs of garlic before Ofsted inspections, the hearing was told.

Mr Tucker, the head of the Acorn Free School in Lincoln, also plastered on aftershave from bottles which he kept by his desk to further disguise the smell of the alcohol.

He also looked dishevelled in his appearance, was often unshaven, and his shirt was not tucked into his trousers and not ironed – and he often swore at pupils, the misconduct panel heard.

One colleague told the teaching watchdog: “Mr Tucker kept several bottles of aftershave on the shelf above his desk along with mints and chewing gum ... Mr Tucker tried to disguise the smell [of drink] with copious amounts of aftershave or eating raw bulbs of garlic.”

The panel was told that in November 2018 one teacher alerted a superior that Mr Tucker “stunk of booze” and she was “not surprised” as Mr Tucker had a “pattern” of coming to the school on Thursdays smelling of alcohol.

Banning him from the profession for at least three years, John Knowles, speaking for the Department for Education, said: “Mr Tucker did not submit any evidence, which demonstrated that he had shown insight or remorse into his actions.”