A teacher and former housemistress, Ms AD, who brought an independent school to an employment tribunal, has been dismissed while awaiting the outcome of her case.
Ms AD, who worked at Ellesmere College in Shropshire for 15 years, has now been granted a new hearing, claiming unfair dismissal.
At an emergency hearing in Birmingham on Friday, Ms AD stated she believed she was dismissed in May for whistleblowing about a student’s “inappropriate sexual behaviour” towards female pupils.
Ellesmere College denies any wrongdoing and is contesting the claims.
Ms AD had been awaiting the result of a discrimination case against the boarding school, in which she accused the administration of “gaslighting” her after she raised concerns about pupil safety and working practices.
Judge Joanne Connolly granted Ms AD a new tribunal later this year but rejected her claim for interim relief, which would have required the college to continue paying her until the full hearing.
Judge Connolly stated that interim relief required a “high bar” for the standard of proof needed to accept the claim.
Ms AD said she had become “persona non grata” at the school after her whistleblowing disclosures.
She stated the school “had to find something wrong with me” as the college “knew they couldn’t dismiss me for whistleblowing.”
The maths teacher was dismissed by an external HR professional who was not a member of the school’s staff. Ms AD claims this was orchestrated by the acting headteacher, who she alleges instructed the HR professional to dismiss her.
Ms AD claims the senior leadership team discriminated against her by failing to support her while she suffered from an anxiety disorder.
In her dismissal letter, Ms AD was said to have been dismissed for several reasons, including “insubordination to the acting headteacher.”
She is still awaiting the result of her original tribunal regarding discrimination, and a case management hearing for the wrongful dismissal case will take place on October 21.
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