Teacher 'who had sex with pupil' banned from classroom

Isabelle Graham says she does not recall the incident as she had had four glasses of wine

Jacob Furedi
Wednesday 31 August 2016 11:56 BST
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Ms Graham married in 2015
Ms Graham married in 2015

A devout Christian teacher who was pictured in bed with a pupil has been banned from the profession.

Isabelle Graham was found to have of engaged in "sexual activity” with a 17-year-old pupil by the General Teaching Council for Scotland (GTCS).

An inquiry into her behaviour was launched after a photograph appeared on social media after her school’s prom night in 2014.

The photo showed Ms Graham in a Travelodge hotel room bed

The picture shows a blonde woman lying in hotel room bed with a figure holding a bottle in the doorway.

The 28-year-old French teacher has since resigned from her job at Whitburn Academy in West Lothian. She was absent from the GTCS proceedings.

Responding to her ban, Ms Graham maintained she was an “active and practising Christian” who had been “waiting until marriage” to have sexual intercourse.

She married in 2015. Her husband, who is training for the clergy, maintained her innocence: “In all the time I have known her, she has always put her Christian faith above all other things.

“I have never had any doubt that the allegations made against her were false.”

The teacher is reported to have spent three hours alone with the teenage pupil in a Travelodge in Edinburgh.

GTCS investigator Fraser Thomson said other students saw Pupil A and Mrs Graham "lying on the bed, one on top of the covers and one underneath the covers".

The picture was taken by a friend sharing the room with Pupil A.

Ms Graham claimed she has no recollection of the events because she drank four glasses of wine.

She maintained “it looks like my hair”, but denied recognising the pupil. She suggested she must have been unconscious and the photograph was “posed”. At an earlier hearing, she said: "I'm the victim."

After looking at CCTV footage, Detective Sergeant Keith Miller, who investigated the incident for Police Scotland, disputed this.

“Throughout the footage there’s no sign Ms Graham is under the excessive influence of drugs or alcohol," he said.

“The way she moved and conducted herself suggested someone who was making conscious decisions.”

He added there was footage of the couple kissing.

Police Scotland did formally investigate the incident, but chose not to pursue charges due to a lack of evidence.

Carla Roth, a lawyer for GTCS, said Ms Graham’s action had left pupils feeling “uncomfortable” and “somewhat shocked”.

Ms Graham previously applied to have her case held in private.

She currently lives abroad and has recently had a child with her husband.

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