A drunk teacher who fell over repeatedly in a school pool after swigging from a wine bottle has been banned from the profession for at least two years, reports the BBC. "The conduct of Mr Knight fell significantly short of the standards expected," conclude investigators.
Liam Knight, 30, "slurred his words, had bloodshot eyes and couldn't focus or remain orientated" while in the water with a class of young pupils at Drayton Junior School near Norwich, a Teaching Regulation Agency panel heard. A bottle of rose wine, which the teacher had bought during his lunch break, was later found in the staff toilets, the tribunal was told.
Be sure to read the full report from the UK's teaching regulator. Undisclosed medication was a factor.
Mr Knight further accepted that it is likely that the bottle of rosé wine found in the staff toilets on or around 10 October 2023 by a member of staff (a picture of which was enclosed in the bundle of documents before the panel) was his and that in any event he had purchased alcohol during lunchtime. The panel considered that there was insufficient evidence before it on which to conclude that the water bottle in the School office purporting to belong to Mr Knight contained alcohol … The panel
also noted that Mr Knight had recalled that he probably would have consumed the wine directly from the wine bottle.
In his defense, I believe they print "CONSUME WINE DIRECTLY FROM THE BOTTLE" right there on the label in Britain.
