A SCOTS education boss has revealed that a PE teacher who ‘slept with a pupil after prom’ claimed she went to the Premier Inn to check pupils for drug taking.
Education manager for Renfrewshire Council Susan Bell was giving evidence to the General Teaching Council for Scotland (GTCS) today regarding Melissa Tweedie.
Miss Tweedie faces being struck off the teaching register after a pupil claimed he had sex with her after his prom at SWG3 in Glasgow in June 2017.
The 27-year-old, who now works as a yoga teacher in Dubai, also allegedly danced inappropriately with pupils from Gleniffer High School in Paisley, Renfrewshire.
Colleagues said Miss Tweedie was ‘shimmying up and down’ the 18-year-old pupil at the event before allegedly being found in bed with the pupil at a nearby Premier Inn.
Miss Bell, who investigated the claims at the time, said Miss Tweedie told her she went to the hotel after being alarmed over a pupil that allegedly had cocaine.
A statement from Miss Tweedie at the time read: “I saw what appeared to be a bag of cocaine waved in my face, it was highly alarming and that is why I did not go home with my flatmate.
“I should have walked back to tell the other staff and I should have called the police.
“Pupils were saying ‘Miss, come upstairs for a drink, it’ll only be one.’
“I was given one glass of Echo Falls white wine by a girl.
“The next part that is clear is jolting up in the bed, I can’t see any face in my memory but I woke up and said what are you doing here?”
Miss Bell later told the GTCS panel: “She (Miss Tweedie) had come to the conclusion that her drink had been spiked and that she would not have engaged in sexual intercourse as it was her time of the month.”
She added: “I do believe she was very remorseful, she was upset during the hearing, it is a horrible position for anyone to find themselves in, I do believe she regretted what happened.
“She didn’t feel she had been inappropriate at the prom, others didn’t agree but my understanding was that she felt she had been behaving appropriately.
“When she mentioned the drugs it was totally out of left field, nobody else had mentioned that, I was knocked sideways and had to think on my feet how to move.
“I thought it sounded ludicrous and I had to consider all the facts and that is what I was doing.”
“She was upset and embarrassed but she denied having sex, it was a matter of fact denial. It was an adamant denial.”
Miss Tweedie faces being struck off the register by the General Teaching Council for Scotland (GTCS) following the allegations.
Former headteacher David Nicholls yesterday said he received a call around 2am on prom night from an ‘alarmed’ pupil who said Miss Tweedie was in the hotel with a pupil.
The now-retired head drove to a Premier Inn in Glasgow to track down Miss Tweedie, who was 22 at the time, but was not allowed past the foyer.
He said he finally managed to reach Miss Tweedie on the phone who told him she was at home.
However, the following day Mr Nicholls said the pupil who was in the room said he had slept with the Glasgow teacher.
The pupil, known only as Pupil A, gave evidence relating to the allegations on Monday, saying: “I did not invite Miss Tweedie to the hotel.
“I don’t know how she got there.”
Referring to the pair going downstairs to his own hotel room, the pupil said: “Me and Miss Tweedie were the only two left in the room.
“We kissed, no one initiated it.
“We went downstairs and had sex in my room.
“She stayed the night and we both left at eight.
“I feel really sorry for Miss Tweedie, I had already handed in my leavers form.
“In my eyes it wasn’t a student event.”
Police Scotland were alerted to the incident at the time and found that no criminality had taken place.
A pupil who attended the prom and was staying at the hotel also gave evidence to the General Teaching Council for Scotland (GTCS) today.
The former Gleniffer High School student, known as Pupil B, told the panel how he saw Miss Tweedie at the Premier Inn and felt ‘it can’t be right’ she was there with pupils.
He spoke of how pupils discussed with one another the dangers that came from a teacher being alone with pupils in a hotel after midnight.
He said: “After prom a number of us walked back to the Premier Inn, I can’t remember if Pupil A was there at the time.
“We were talking about how risky it was for Miss Tweedie to be in a room with pupils.
“Just the fact she was back in the hotel and there was no other teacher present.
“I had also seen Miss Prentice trying to get her back to SWG3 and seeing her there in the hotel.
“I thought ‘this can’t be right’.
“I was in the room with a number of pupils, I knew Mr Nicholls quite well from playing football so it could have been myself that called him.
“I just remember being in the room and trying to get someone to come and get Miss Tweedie from the hotel.”
The pupil was also asked if at any point during the course of the evening at prom and the walk to the Premier Inn if he had seen any evidence of drugs.
He said: “No, none at all.”
The hearing continues.
