THE mother of a teenage girl who was thrown out of a top private school for having sex with a fellow pupil on a teacher’s desk has lost a legal bid to challenge the decision.
The 16-year-old was expelled from Gordonstoun School in Morayshire after being caught in a tryst with a boy by a shocked member of staff.
The pair were initially suspended by principal, Simon Reid, before being thrown out following the incident in March 2013.
The girl’s mother challenged the decision on the grounds that the teenager has Attention Hyperactive Deficit Disorder (ADHD), which affected her judgment.
She said this made her daughter disabled and claimed she had been unlawfully discriminated against.
Their case was rejected by the Additional Support Needs Tribunal for Scotland but the family appealed to the Court of Session.
They sought a written apology, a statement that the girl had been discriminated against and changes to school discipline policy to ensure a similar incident doesn’t reoccur.
However, judges Lady Smith, Lord Brodie, and Lord Malcolm rejected her case and upheld the tribunal’s decision that the girl, referred to in court as “M”, was not disabled.
In a written ruling, Lady Smith said: “M was an adult with full capacity. Adults do follow their very natural human desires to engage in sexual activity.
“There would need to have been clear and cogent evidence to support the claim that, in M’s case, this was not ordinary teenage behaviour but was a consequence of her ADHD.
“The tribunal’s conclusion was one which we consider, given the state of the evidence, they were entitled to reach.”
The court heard the encounter was organised by email.
Exchanges dating back over more than a year were found revealing sexually explicit exchanges and references to prior sexual contact.
A spokeswoman for Gordonstoun said last night: “It would not be appropriate for us to comment on the specifics of this case.
“We have a very clear policy relating to sexual relationships. All parents are sent a copy of our Code of Conduct which states clearly that we do not believe schooldays are a time for a sexual relationship and that if a student is found having sexual intercourse they are likely to be asked to leave the school.”
Gordonstoun commands fees of more than £30,000 a year and has 600 pupils.
Prince Charles hated his time there, calling it “hell” and a “prison”.
Other former pupils include Princes Andrew and Edward, the Queen’s grandchildren Peter and Zara Phillips, Big Brother’s “Nasty” Nick Bateman and David Bowie’s son Zowie, now known as Duncan Jones. EXPRESS.CO.UK
