Teacher advised lady he needed to her put on ‘low-cut crop prime and tight trousers’ in school present
John Kerr, 75, made the statements while employed as a history and modern studies teacher at Berwickshire High School in Duns, Scottish Borders
John Kerr worked as a history and modern studies teacher at Berwickshire High School in Duns, Scottish Borders(Image: Google)
A sinister Scottish teacher has been struck off after making inappropriate comments about a pupil’s crop top and threatening to “wipe the floor” with another.
John Kerr, 75, made the shocking statements while employed as a history and modern studies teacher at Berwickshire High School in Duns, Scottish Borders.
The disturbing remarks, made between December 2018 and February 2019, included Kerr telling a pupil he would only attend the school show if she was wearing a “low-cut crop top and tight trousers”. On a separate occasion, Kerr spat into his hands and wiped it across another pupil’s arms before shoving them.
John Kerr told a pupil he would only attend the school show if she was wearing a ‘low-cut crop top and tight trousers’
He then unleashed a torrent of verbal abuse at the youngster, calling them stupid, threatening to “kick their teeth in” and “wipe the floor with them”.
Kerr told the young person: “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 menaced the pupil by declaring: “I will be the end of you, I will be the last thing you see”. Kerr’s disgraceful behaviour was exposed before the General Teaching Council (GTC), reports the Daily Record.
He attempted to deny the accusations, insisting the conversations had never taken place. However, the watchdog ruled that the allegations had been proved. He received a one-year ban from teaching. A representative for Kerr informed the hearing that, at 75, the disgraced teacher had no intention of returning to the classroom.
The watchdog deemed his conduct “very serious”, noting it involved multiple pupils across three separate incidents and “displayed a pattern of concerning behaviour”. Kerr’s representative argued no punishment was warranted, however the panel determined that striking him off the register was “the appropriate and proportionate sanction”.
Kerr was subsequently declared unfit to teach. On his LinkedIn profile, he describes himself as a “very experienced high school teacher”. He also claims to have written 30 school textbooks and educational materials for the National Library of Scotland, the Scottish TUC and the BBC.
A statement from GTC read: “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.”
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