A PETITION in support of a Dumbarton and Vale of Leven teacher accused of having a Bobby Sands mug and a “Free Derry” poster in his classroom has been signed by more than 4,000 people.

Jim Beattie faces being struck off if charges against him are upheld by the General Teaching Council for Scotland. The hearing into his case started earlier this week in Edinburgh.

A total of 4,178 people – 1,713 more than the number of pupils attending Dumbarton and the Vale’s three secondary schools – have backed the former Our Lady and St Patrick’s teacher.

Leven councillor Jim Bollan has also pledged his support for the teacher, who left the school in 2014 following an internal disciplinary process by West Dunbartonshire Council. He was then employed at the Vale of the Leven Academy.

Cllr Bollan told the Reporter: “He was cleared. He went through the normal grievance procedure which ended up at the appeals committee which is run by populated and he was cleared.

“I understand it was felt at the time because of the circumstances he should work at the Vale of Leven Academy.

“It just seems crazy to me. It seems like double jeopardy.”

As previously reported, the teacher faces a string of charges which also includes allegations of writing the term “h** town” in notes during a development day while in employment as a modern studies teacher at Our Lady and St Patrick’s High School in August 2014, the Reporter understands.

He is accused of having a “Free Derry” Christmas card and postcard inside his classroom, while also having a mug bearing an image of Bobby Sands – an Irish Republican Army member who died at the notorious Maze Prison in Northern Ireland after going on hunger strike.

Another charge alleges that the teacher used “prior knowledge” of a Modern Studies exam to “advise pupils on the areas to study in advance” of the exam.

The General Teaching Council for Scotland has also revealed the teacher is accused of having “inappropriate contact with pupils personally by email”.

The petition itself was created by Vale of Leven Academy student s, including Anisha Tagore, who fears she’ll fail her modern studies higher if he is not reinstated.

The 16-year-old and her fellow classmates only discovered Mr Beattie was appearing before the hearing after the Dumbarton Reporter revealed the news last week, having been told by the school he was ill.

She told the Reporter: “All the pupils think he’s great. I love him myself. On the days you have his class, you want to go to school. He is funny as well.

“This was back in 2013, I don’t know how that went down but I just think if that’s so long ago I don’t see why it’s still effecting him.

“Anyone you speak to just says 'I miss him, I want him back'. He told us he was leaving and we always said ‘you need to wait until we finish school’ but we didn’t know he was talking about this.

“We’ve got his back.”

Cllr Bollan, who is one of the thousands to sign the Care2 online petition, said he is “not at all” concerned with the alleged items but added he was unsure if the exam related claim was included in the council’s procedure.

He said: “A lot of people consider [Bobby Sands] a terrorist, but people considered Nelson Mandela a terrorist. It all depends on where you stand. He was an elected official and considered himself a freedom fighter.

“I think if there can be any criticism of the education system in Scotland it swept the Irish issue under the table.

“We were never told the truth about it [when I was in school]. I think it’s about educating young people and giving them the truth and the facts and letting them make up their own mind.”