Teacher who crashed car into tree on way to school after drinking half bottle of wine avoids ban from teaching
7 April 2025, 18:13
A science teacher who drank half a bottle of wine before school and crashed his car into a tree on the way to work has avoided a ban.
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When he was breathalysed by police, John Lees was nearly double the legal limit, a Teaching Regulation Agency panel heard.
The experienced teacher told the hearing he was "under stress from work" and had been "self-medicating with alcohol".
But despite being handed a 17-month driving ban, an independent panel ruled he can continue working as a teacher.
The panel heard Mr Lees had been working at Brookfield Community School, Chesterfield, for nearly 20 years at the time of the crash.
In January 2023, before driving to work that morning, "he drank half a bottle of wine", the hearing was told.
"His car collided with a tree and he was breathalysed by the police."
He recorded a reading of 61 micrograms of alcohol in 100ml of breath, the panel heard - the limit being 35 micrograms.
He pleaded guilty to drink driving at Chesterfield Magistrates' Court the following month, where he was fined and disqualified from driving for 17 months, the hearing was told.
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He resigned in April 2023, but is now employed by a different school which was not named by the panel.
Defending his actions, the teacher told the panel he had been "under stress from work" and had a difficult "relationship with alcohol".
Mr Lees was "apologetic", and has used the time since the incident to "reflect on his actions", the panel decided.
The teacher told the hearing he wanted to keep his difficulties at work to himself and from his family, and tried to manage the stress by "self-medicating with alcohol".
A reference provided by his new school described him as an "integral part of our teaching staff" and said there was "no reason to suspect that he has been under the influence of alcohol".
A decision made on behalf of the Secretary of State concluded that a prohibition order was not necessary.
"I have placed considerable weight on the panel's comments concerning the extensive insight and remorse demonstrated by Mr Lees, which indicates that a repetition is unlikely," the decision concluded.
"I have also noted his good history and the contribution he is currently making to the sector.
"I agree with the panel that a prohibition order is not proportionate or in the public interest."
