A retired Scottish teacher has been removed from the teaching register after making inappropriate comments about a pupil's crop top and threatening another student. John Kerr, 75, faced a General Teaching Council (GTC) hearing over incidents at Berwickshire High School in Duns, Scottish Borders.
Inappropriate comments and threats
Between December 2018 and February 2019, Kerr told a pupil he would only attend the school show if she wore a "low-cut crop top and tight trousers". On another occasion, he spat into his hands and wiped it across a pupil's arms before pushing them, then launched a verbal tirade calling them stupid and threatening to "kick their teeth in" and "wipe the floor with them".
Kerr also told the youth: "You'll never be as smart as me…I have written over 50 books" and "You are thick and stupid…you will never make anything of your life". He further threatened the pupil by saying: "I will be the end of you, I will be the last thing you see".
GTC findings and sanction
Kerr denied the accusations, claiming the conversations never took place, but the GTC found the allegations proved. He was banned from teaching for one year and declared unfit to teach. A representative for Kerr said that at 75 he had no plans to return to the classroom.
The watchdog found his conduct was "very serious" and involved multiple pupils in three separate incidents, "displayed a pattern of concerning behaviour". The teacher's representative submitted that no sanction was necessary, but the panel concluded removal of his registration was "the appropriate and proportionate sanction".
Background and GTC statement
According to Kerr's LinkedIn, he describes himself as a "very experienced high school teacher" and claims to have authored 30 school text books and education materials for the National Library of Scotland, the Scottish TUC and the BBC.
A GTC statement said: "The Panel was satisfied that the public would be concerned regarding the nature of the teacher's behaviour in this case and that it would be viewed as conduct which was fundamentally incompatible with being a teacher. The panel also considered that the public interest required it to take into account protection of the public, and that having failed to evidence that he had remedied his behaviour the Teacher did pose an ongoing risk."
"Accordingly, for all the reasons set out above, the panel concluded that the teacher's conduct had fallen significantly short of the standards expected of a registered teacher and he is currently unfit to teach."
