Teacher told class to turn away before ‘hurting’ girl

Published on Thursday 19 January 2012 00:00

A TEACHER told his class to turn away before twisting a primary school pupil’s arm because she was neglecting her work, a court has heard.

Christopher Scott “hurt” the primary-six girl, then aged ten, at her school in West Stirlingshire, one of her classmates told Stirling Sheriff Court yesterday. She said Scott became “very angry” because the girl would not do her work.

The alleged victim’s 11-year-old classmate was giving evidence on the second day of a summary trial, in which Scott, 33, denies assaulting the girl over a six-month period while he taught at the school.

The classmate gave evidence by video link.

When asked by depute fiscal Emma Whyte why she had come to court, she replied: “Because the teacher who was teaching us, Mr Scott, hurt one of my friends and I saw that myself.”

She said: “The teacher told us to turn away but because she was my friend I wanted to look.

“He grabbed her and pulled her arm, before he twisted it back. It looked like it hurt a lot.”

The court has heard that Scott started work at the Stirling Council-run school in September 2010 – brought in because of rising class sizes – and specifically taught one of the two primary six classes.

For legal reasons, neither the victim nor the school can be identified.

The alleged victim had told the court earlier this month that Scott would pull her arm “really tight” and also tip her off her chair.

Scott, of Gentle Croft, Braco, Perthshire, denies a charge that alleges that on various occasions between 3 September 2010 and 10 March 2011, he assaulted the girl by pulling her by the arm, and twisting it behind her.

The single charge also alleges he pushed her on the body, twisted the skin on her arms with his hands and seized her by the arm.

He is then said to have struck her on the arm, and tripped her up by her foot whereby she fell to the ground, all to her injury.

The summary trial, before Sheriff Wyllie Robertson, continues.