Physics teacher, 34, who kissed pupil, 17, in nightclub allowed to return to teaching
11 August 2022, 10:24
A married school teacher found guilty of of kissing one of her pupils in a nightclub will be allowed back into the classroom.
Physics teacher Ashley McConnell, 34, was reprimanded by the General Teaching Council for Scotland (GTCS) after a weeks-long legal battle to keep her job after an investigation into the 2018 incident.
Ms McConnell was said to have danced flirtatiously with a 17 year-old pupil and kissed him at a nightclub in Thurso, Caithness.
The teacher, who previously worked at Thurso High School in Caithness, is also said to have held hands with the male pupil and told other pupils at the club who questioned her behaviour to 'f*ck off'.
Ms McConnell told the GCTS investigation in July she had drank an excessive amount of alcohol before the night out and could not remember the details of what had happened.
Ms McConnell, also known as Ashley Swanson, is also said to have held hands with the male pupil and told other pupils at the club who questioned her behaviour to 'f*ck off'.
The secondary school teacher was out that night for dinner and drinks to celebrate a colleague's 50th birthday.
Read More: Teacher, 30, accused of 'groping and kissing pupil', 17, after being 'flirty' at nightclub
Last month Ms McConnell sobbed as told the GCTS investigation in July she had drank an excessive amount of alcohol before the night out and could not remember the details of what had happened, the Daily Record reported.
A fellow teacher with her on the night out said: "I do not believe that she was in full control of her actions, she was more than tipsy and I do not remember her making any advances.
"If she was sober it would never have happened as when people are drunk they do things they normally wouldn't. Ashley was feeling like she wanted to party, I was the one who had to push her away."
The GCTS panel handed the teacher a nine-month reprimand but said she would be allowed to return to teaching.
The investigation said: "The panel considered that a combination of factors had influenced her behaviour on that evening.
"The panel was persuaded that the teacher's behaviour was out of character and that it was neither predatory nor premeditated in intent."
The panel found there was insufficient evidence that Ms McConnell touched the pupil on the bottom or groin area.
