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 Nigel Duncan |
PUPILS SAY: ‘LEAVE OUR TEACHER BE’
Quintin Kynaston deputy head faces school probe ‘to clear his name’
PUPILS at a St John’s Wood secondary school have leapt to the defence of their embattled deputy head following accusations in the tabloid press.
Nigel Duncan, 42, who joined Quintin Kynaston 11 years ago, was accused in the Mail on Sunday of making a bogus admission application to win his children a place at a popular Fulham primary school.
Junior Manchand, 17, said: “Mr Duncan is a legend. I think what they are saying about him is completely unfair. He has a way of teaching that is playful, but it gets stuff in our heads. Not a lot of teachers can do that. Also he knows how to relate to the kids, which is important at a school like ours.”
He has set up a group on social networking site Facebook called Leave Nigel Duncan Alone – 102 people had joined the protest group when the West End Extra went to press last night (Thursday).
QK’s headteacher Jo Shuter has for the first time spoken out publicly in defence of the ex-PE and maths teacher as a “man of integrity”.
Ms Shuter confirmed there would be an internal investigation at the school in St John’s Wood to establish whether Mr Duncan had “brought the school into disrepute”. She credited him with helping turn around the school that just five years ago was perceived as failing.
Mr Duncan, who denies any wrongdoing, found himself in the eye of media storm after he was named as the man who allegedly downloaded blank baptism certificates from the internet and forged a priest’s signature for his two children to be eligible for a place at highly regarded Larmenier & Sacred Heart school.
Ms Shuter said: “I feel sorry for him and I would hope to clear his name. I have always known Nigel as a man of integrity and a great teacher. He works incredibly hard and is very popular with the kids. Nigel’s one of the reasons why the school has improved so much.”
She said Mr Duncan would be back in the classroom on Monday as normal, adding: “There will be a formal investigation. It will look at the allegations, the evidence, and how it affects the school.”
Mr Duncan was on holiday with his children when the West End Extra visited his home yesterday. Mr Duncan’s partner said she would ask him to contact the newspaper on his return.
Church Street councillor Barbara Grahame, a governor at QK, said: “In my opinion, this is a domestic, personal, issue, and I can’t see how it affects the school. I think it is unfairly being linked with QK because of the school’s reputation in the press. I didn’t anticipate an internal inquiry.”
Larmenier & Sacred Heart gives priority to “baptised children from practising Catholic families who are resident in the parish of Brook Green.”
Chairwoman of governors Yvonne Ahern said: “Larmenier and Sacred Heart School can confirm that fraudulent applications were made to the school by the parents of two children. Following an investigation by the school in July 2009, the places were withdrawn in accordance with the school’s admissions policy. The school is unable to comment further as all applications made to the school are of a confidential nature.” |
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