A former Montrose Academy teacher has been cleared of inappropriate behaviour and comments towards girls in his class.
Steven Gowans, 60, faced a series of accusations including telling a 12-year-old her skirt would “end up on the floor” and putting his hand on her bum or hip.
But a panel for the General Teaching Council of Scotland found the allegations against him, which he denied, not proven.
The retired maths teacher, who later worked at Monifieth High School, had previously been investigated by police and his employer Angus Council.
His two-day hearing, which concluded on Wednesday, was told police took no further action against him and that the council found insufficient evidence to take disciplinary action.
The allegations
Gowans was suspended from Montrose Academy when the first allegations involving two older pupils were made in 2018.
It was claimed he told them their dresses would be “off by the end of the night” and that he had rubbed the back of one of the girls.
He was also alleged to have used indecent or drugs-related mnemonics to teach the CAST maths diagram, told various female pupils to “twist my knob” when unlocking his classroom door and discussed drinking alcohol with pupils he knew were underage.
After he was accused again by the 12-year-old girl in 2019 he was transferred for the remainder of his 21-year teaching career to Monifieth.
Had the GTCS found Gowans’ fitness to teach impaired he could have been struck from the professional body’s register.
None of the pupils involved gave evidence to the hearing, despite being asked to do so.
‘Hearsay’ evidence
GTCS presenting officer Gary Burton said statements they gave to police had sufficient weight to allow the allegations to be proved.
He dismissed the suggestion the girls had colluded to fabricate stories by highlighting the level of detail given about a series of incidents, and not just one event.
He said: “If there was collusion, why come up with such a detailed story which could leave you exposed to tripping up?”
But Gowan’s representative Martin Walker said the hearing had relied on “hearsay” of police statements and transcript.
He said: “The overriding principle here is fairness and the panel has not had the opportunity to assess the credibility or reliability of the pupils making the allegations nor been able to assess the pupils’ demeanour.”
Convener Pauline McClellan confirmed the panel had found each of the allegations not proven.
Angus Council has declined to comment on the case.
