Disgraced Arbroath High School head teacher Gillian Rew has been sacked by Angus Council, The Courier can reveal.
Almost exactly a year since an alleged incident on a sixth-year school trip to Lockerbie which led to claims the highly-regarded and popular figurehead had been involved in inappropriate drunken behaviour, it is understood Mrs Rew was dismissed by the authorityfollowing a disciplinary hearing late last week.
Angus Council has yet to officiallyconfirm the dismissal.
Mrs Rew, who moved from her role as depute rector of Dundee’s Morgan Academy to succeed Iain Orr at the Angus secondary at the end of 2013, has been suspended since the Lockerbie allegations emerged.
The inquiry also led to her being charged by police, but following a lengthy investigation the Crown Office finally confirmed last month thatcriminal charges against her had been dropped.
The nature of the charges Mrs Rew faced was not revealed, but it wasconfirmed they did not revolve around the purchase of alcohol for minors.
In August, the Crown Office said that “after full and careful consideration of the facts and circumstances of the case, Crown Counsel decided that no criminal proceedings be taken in this case”.
That confirmation triggered the resumption of Angus Council’s own inquiry into the allegations, which The Courier understands culminated in last week’s disciplinary hearing.
A spokesman for the local authority said no comment would be made on a personnel matter.
It is believed, however, that a right of appeal is open to staff in such situations and that must be exercised within a timeframe of less than a fortnight.
The General Teaching Council is also expected to be informed of the decision once the matter is concluded.
Mrs Rew was well-liked among pupils and fellow staff at the 920-pupil Keptie Road secondary and had been part of the weekend adventure trip to Lockerbie which was set up as positive performance reward for sixth-year youngsters.
The exact nature of the allegations made against her has not been made public, but it is understood there was unhappiness about aspects of her behaviour during the course of the weekend.
In the immediate aftermath, pupils flooded social media with messages of support for the suspended head and she was described by one local councillor as having made a very positive impression from her arrival at the school.