Teacher struck off for drinking wine in the lavatories

AN ENGLISH teacher sacked for drinking before returning to the classroom has been struck off after a hearing over incidents stretching back to 2018.

Emma Rule, 32, was dismissed from Queen Elizabeth’s Grammar School, in Derbyshire, after drinking two bottles of wine in the lavatories. An empty bottle was seen in her bag, the Teaching Regulation Agency hearing in Coventry heard. Her behaviour became “erratic” and she was fired for gross misconduct.

In March 2019, Miss Rule was supply teaching at Oakwood High School, Rotherham, when she was again seen drunk on school premises.

A colleague saw her next to her car and asked if she was going to drive, but was told her boyfriend was picking her up. Miss Rule tried to reverse out of the school car park, but instead shot forward and nearly hit a fence.

Police arrested her for drink-driving. She was fined £120 and banned for two years. She was barred from teaching with the right to apply for reinstatement after three years.