A TEACHER has been banned from the classroom for two years after waging a hate campaign against his school.

Geography teacher Ian Ashmore sent forged letters to parents, teachers and local papers – falsely claiming that Bedford High School in Leigh was facing closure.

The bogus letter purporting to be from the school's chairman of governors slandered senior staff and claimed the secondary could shut down by 2010.

More than 50 copies of the malicious letter were sent to homes and offices, as well as a number of local pubs.

Distress

Ashmore, 57, last year admitted in court to causing distress and anxiety through penning the malicious letters.

Wigan Magistrates Court ordered him to serve a 12-month community order and a three-month curfew.

Now the General Teaching Council has ruled his conviction amounted to professional misconduct and has suspended him for two years.

School bosses called in police after their phone lines were clogged with calls from worried parents.

Ashmore, a former union rep who had been at the school for more than 30 years, was arrested in February 2008 and was later matched to DNA from saliva on the envelopes.

During the court case, he revealed he had been suffering depression and his mother had also recently died.

The letter, which named individual members of staff, made allegations about 'systematic bullying by managers' as well as the performance of the school.

The school was also forced to field queries from the AQA exam board about false allegations of examination malpractice.

During a disciplinary hearing in Birmingham, education officials acknowledged there had been no complaints about the teacher's classroom ability .

But they said his malicious letters had been 'entirely inappropriate and unjustifiable'.

Their ruling said: “Letters from senior members of staff indicate the personal distress caused by the allegations contained in the forged letter.

I only regret sending the letter if it distressed anyone it did not intend to

Ian Ashmore

 “In addition, the chairman of governors was distressed both by the forgery of his name and the potential impact on the reputation of the school.

“The public is entitled to expect that registered teachers will behave with honesty and with integrity.”

Wigan council confirmed the teacher no longer worked at the school.

Ashmore, of Chorley Road, Westhoughton: "I only regret sending the letter if it distressed anyone it did not intend to.

"The decision to suspend me makes no difference to me at all. Twelve months ago I retired on the ground sof ill health and I never want to go back inot the classroom.

"I can't understand why the GTC has spent a year on this investigation when there is no way I could return to teaching anyway becasue I am claiming ill health reitrement benefits."

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