A head teacher accused of creating an “atmosphere of fear and oppression” at her island school has quit the profession.
Hilda Learmonth had been due to face a disciplinary hearing next week after being accused of bullying by colleagues at Stromness Academy in Orkney.
The allegations against her included that she “denied them dignity at work” and “imposed a management regime to the detriment of many staff at the school”.
The 58-year-old was asked to attend a General Teaching Council fitness to teach hearing in Edinburgh on Tuesday.
But a spokeswoman for the GTC said last night that Ms Learmonth had signed a “removal with consent form” – which means that she has agreed to be struck off the register and there is no requirement for a full hearing with evidence from witnesses.
She had been at the helm of the secondary school in Orkney for more than seven years.
In May last year it emerged that nearly two-thirds of staff at Stromness Academy had signed a letter to the chief executive of Orkney Islands Council citing concerns about the school.
The signatories claimed they had “reluctantly come to the decision that action is required” against a “situation we have been labouring under for the past few years, as we go about our everyday business in the school”.
A spokeswoman for Orkney Islands Council said: “It would be inappropriate to comment prior to the hearing.”
Stromness is the second-largest secondary school in the islands, with a roll of 366 pupils.
Councillor Rob Crichton, of the Stromness and South Isles ward, has attended some of the academy’s parent council meetings since the crisis started.
He said: “There is a ‘let’s move forward’ atmosphere going around the place at the moment, which is good, but we need to learn from this to some extent.
“A number of parents contacted me at the time, it wasn’t about her management skills, it was to do with the fact that a number of teachers were off sick, and they were concerned about their children’s education, although maybe that was as a result of her management skills.
“The education authority put in place a teacher to take extra classes over the holidays to help any pupils who needed.
“The parent council seems to be much more proactive than it was this time last year.”
Ms Learmonth became head teacher at the school in 2007.
She was unavailable for comment yesterday.
In January this year, the council appointed Emma Taylor as head teacher. She is due to take up the appointment in the summer term.
She is currently the head teacher at Farr High School in Sutherland.
Ms Taylor previously worked at Westray Junior High School in Orkney as a languages teacher between 2002-09.