Brother says teacher who was struck off for sex with pupil on flight was set up

Eleanor Wilson was struck off as a teacher after a panel dismissed her claims she and a pupil only hugged. Photo / via Facebook

The brother of a female physics teacher struck off for having unprotected sex with a student in a plane toilet has said she was set up.

Jethro Wilson, 26, says his sister Eleanor, 28, denies joining the "mile high club" with a sixth-former on the way back from a school trip to the Large Hadron Collider in Geneva 2015.

Mr Wilson says the former teacher, who was banned from the classroom for life and is under investigation by police, is now in the Royal Navy and is currently backpacking on Dartmoor as part of her training.

Wilson is a Royal Navy reservist. Photo / Supplied

He said she is serving alongside her new boyfriend who she is also living with.

A spokesman for The Royal Navy said: "It would be inappropriate to comment."

Jethro also told the Daily Mail that his sister was not sacked from her job, adding: "She left because of all the hassle she was getting from the younger students.

"She mutually left the school but nothing sexually happened with the student and for it to come out that it was on the plane was a bit bizarre really.

"The police have dealt with it and haven't prosecuted her because she hasn't done anything wrong. Nothing happened on the plane or anywhere else."

A tribunal heard that Miss Wilson, from Keighley, West Yorkshire, had been drinking miniature bottles of wine while flirting at the back of a budget flight back from Geneva.

She is then said to have entered the toilet, kissed, engaged in a sex act and had intercourse with the pupil without using any protection.

Giving evidence to a professional conduct panel, the sixth-former, known as Pupil A, said both of them were drunk on the flight in the summer of 2015.

But Jethro Wilson denies this, saying: "When she [Miss Wilson] went on this trip the drinking wasn't on the plane, she had just had a drink with some of the students older than 18 in a bar in Switzerland".

He added: "She worked so hard to be a teacher and it's a shame because she doesn't want to do it because of what's happened.

"She had a drink in Switzerland and allowed students over 18 to have a drink, that was all and now it's this big.

The relationship came to light seven months later after another pupil threatened to reveal the tryst unless Wilson had sex with him. Photo / via Facebook

"A student can easily say one thing that has ruined a teacher's career. She has worked seven years for it and to suddenly out of the blue stop because of lads pestering her because she is a young teacher.

"It's a real shame, they need more good teachers like her, she was the smartest teacher in her school.

"She had a boyfriend at the time who she was happy with. She has no reason to blow her career like that."

Miss Wilson, from Keighley, West Yorkshire, continued their relationship, texting and meeting up for drinks despite gossip at the school in Bristol.

In September 2015 the head teacher heard rumours about the relationship and quizzed Miss Wilson about them.

But she denied any improper behaviour and no further action was taken.

But the relationship came to light seven months later after another pupil threatened to reveal the tryst unless Miss Wilson had sex with him.

He sent Miss Wilson a series of emails in March 2016, in which he said he knew about her relationship with Pupil A and would inform the school.

These emails were reported to the school and the police.

The school launched an investigation and Miss Wilson was dismissed in May 2016.

She was called to appear before the professional conduct panel earlier this month.

At the hearing, the National College for Teaching and Leadership disciplinary panel found that Pupil A to be a credible, reliable witness and agreed with his version of events.

Wilson was accused of having sex with a pupil on the way back from a school trip to the Large Hadron Collider in Geneva in 2015. Photo / AP

Miss Wilson was not present but the panel heard she had previously denied the pair kissed or had sex, and claimed they simply "hugged on occasion".

She admitted during the school's investigation that the pair had met and exchanged text messages but denied that they had drunk any alcohol, even though Pupil A had shown his teachers a receipt for ciders.

But following the two-day hearing, she was found guilty of all but two of the allegations against her.

Polly O'Malley, chairman of the professional conduct panel, said: "There was evidence that the teacher's actions were deliberate and continued for a significant length of time despite her understanding that her behaviour was inappropriate.

"There was no evidence to suggest that the teacher was acting under duress."

Striking Miss Wilson off from the profession, she added: "These behaviours include serious dishonesty and serious sexual misconduct.

The panel has found that Miss Wilson engaged in sexual activity with Pupil A on one occasion, including oral sex and sexual intercourse.

"Additionally the panel has found that Miss Wilson encouraged Pupil A to hide their relationship and lied about it herself when an investigation into the allegations was undertaken by the school."

The name of the school and the name and age of Pupil A were not revealed at the hearing to protect his identity.

Miss Wilson was reported to the police, however it was not known last night whether officers had taken any action against her.

An Avon and Somerset spokesman said she voluntarily attended a police station for interview in 2016 and "inquiries are ongoing".