Headteacher ‘chewed garlic to hide alcohol on breath’ and called student an ‘a***hole’

Jeremy Tucker banned from profession over misconduct

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A headteacher would eat raw garlic to hide the smell of alcohol on his breath and once called a student an “a***hole”, a misconduct hearing heard.

Jeremy Tucker also once flipped a table over in front of students at his secondary school in Lincoln, the Teaching Regulation Agency found.

The headteacher was suspended from his role at Acorn Free School in November 2018 and later resigned. He has now been banned from the profession following the misconduct hearing earlier this month.

Witnesses told the panel Mr Tucker would come into school smelling of alcohol and used mints and aftershave to try and mask it.

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They also claimed he was also drunk in school at times and this led to erratic behaviour. The misconduct panel said it could not be certain of this and erratic behaviour could have been down to other causes.

When Ofsted inspected the school, witnesses said the headteacher would eat raw garlic to hide the smell of alcohol on his breath.

The misconduct panel also heard evidence Mr Tucker would call pupils names and “belittle” them.

A witness said he told a pupil to “stop being an a***hole” on one occasion. When asked why he did not call another student the same name, he replied: “Hers is smaller”.

Mr Tucker said he did not recall this incident, but the panel found the allegation, among others over inappropriate comments made to students, proven.

A witness said he also screamed in pupils’ faces and flipped a table over when dealing with students who had skipped school. The panel accepted evidence he flipped over a table in front of students.

Mr Tucker was banned from the profession with immediate effect after the misconduct hearing, which found he had engaged in “unacceptable professional conduct” that could bring the profession into disrepute.

The headteacher, who was absent from the hearing, can apply for a review in three years’ time.

A statement from the school said: “The governors of Acorn Secondary Alternative Provision (Free School) note that the work of the Teaching Regulation Agency in relation to Jeremy Tucker has now been completed and an outcome delivered through this independent process.

“The school cooperated with our TRA colleagues throughout and thank them for the work that they do on behalf of the teaching profession. Mr Tucker left the employment of Acorn in May 2019.”