Edinburgh high school teacher convicted of racist abuse struck off

A teacher who was convicted of racial abuse has been banned from working in the profession.

James Devlin, who was working as a secondary school teacher in Edinburgh, was fined £335 and ordered to pay compensation to his victim at Stirling Sheriff Court in October 2021.

It was found that the teacher shouted, swore and uttered threats and offensive comments during the racially aggravated incident.

After being contacted by the General Teaching Council in October 2023, while still working as a teacher, Devlin responded to an email telling the organisation to “go and f*** yourself”.

In November the same year, whilst still employed by the council, he replied to another email stating “suck my f**** c***”.

In its report, the independent regulator submitted that Devlin’s conviction was “very serious” and said that his emails “demonstrated his contempt for his regulator, and a complete lack of understanding of his duties to cooperate with his regulator regarding the fitness to teach process”.

It was also submitted that the teacher had shown no insight or remorse for his conduct, and with specific reference to his email dated January 2024, in which he stated, “I will continue to return the abuse you bring to me in this way”.

The panel found that the racially aggravated component of the teacher’s conviction meant that there was a need to protect the public and that this behaviour was inconsistent with schools’ commitment to tackling racism and was particularly concerning given that teachers are expected to serve as role models.

It was ruled that Devlin is unfit to teach.