A senior teacher had concerns about her colleague's behaviour on the night she's accused of having sex with a pupil after school prom.
Heather Prentice was giving evidence at a General Teaching Council for Scotland probe into the behaviour of Melissa Tweedie at the event in Glasgow.
It's claimed the former PE teacher from Gleniffer High in Paisley partied with pupils at SWG3 nightclub before going back with them to a Premier Hotel. The then 23-year-old allegedly danced inappropriately with pupils before sleeping with the pupil, who was 18.
Deputy head Ms Prentice, 60, told the hearing yesterday: "I had concerns about Melissa from the start of the dance regarding her outfit.
"Later in the evening I saw her up dancing with a glass of wine.
"She was up with a group of sixth year pupils."
She claims she saw: "Pupil A and her taking shots at the bar."
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When it was time to leave the prom in June 2017, Ms Prentice asked Tweedie how she was getting home.
The Deputy Head recounted: "She said she was getting a black hack.
"I told her I would arrange something for her.
"I told Melissa that there was a lift organised (another teacher agreed to take her home)."
When it was time for Tweedie - now 27 and working as a yoga teacher in Dubai - to leave Ms Prentice claimed she was unable to find her: "I was told that she had left with sixth year pupils.
"I caught up to her on Kelvinhaugh Street.
"She was very reluctant to take advice and come with us.
"We couldn't make her come with us, so we had to let her go."
The Deputy said she was called by a colleague to a hotel across the river from SWG3.
"I got to the hotel across the river at about 2:15am.
"Staff were checking CCTV to see if Melissa was there.
"Pupils had said that they had seen her in a room drinking alcohol.
"Mr Nicholls [Head Teacher] asked Melissa to send a ping to her location.
"She did not reply."
When replying to the presenting officer's cross examination from Gary Burton she said in relation to her outfit: "I do remember it was quite loose, short, low cut.
"I do remember that she looked like she was going on a night out."
When asked about the nature of the dancing she said: "It was all male pupils she was dancing with.
"I didn't see any contact between her and any pupil."
On her level of inebriation she said: "She was not that drunk that she couldn't walk.
"She was not that drunk that she was out of control.
"I told her she needed to be more careful here and the way she was seeing the situation was not the way the pupils were seeing it.
"I wanted her to recognise that the pupils were getting a bit titillated by it."
Hearing convener, Arthur Stewart, then asked if she thought that she had actually spoken to her flatmate on the phone to get them to pick her up.
Ms Prentice said: "With hindsight, I wasn't sure it was her flatmate on the phone.
"I'm trying to say I think she was on the phone to the sixth year pupil [Pupil A].
"I haven't got anything to back that up other than that she was blowing kisses and saying 'love, love.'"
Another pupil who was present at the prom was heard by the GTCS this afternoon.
The pupil recounted: "I was sitting at my table and I remember a chat between teachers that she needed to calm down."
She then spoke about what she saw when she was staying at the Premier Inn after the night: "I went back into the room as everyone was leaving to get a drink.
"Pupil A had his arms around the base of her back and she said to me 'Can we just pretend for a minute like I'm not your teacher'.
"I left because it was quite weird.
"I went down the stairs for some food and I saw Mr Nicholls.
"He said 'where is she, where is she?'
"I think he meant Miss Tweedie."
When being cross examined by Presenting Officer Gary Burton, she said: "They were sitting on the edge of the double bed.
"She was competent enough to say 'can we just pretend for a minute like I'm not your teacher' to me."
The pupil also recalled how "Mr Nicholls looked quite startled."
Police Scotland were alerted to the incident and investigated it at the time.
They found that no criminality had taken place.
The hearing continues
