A Glasgow teacher who has been banned from the profession after it was discovered she had been posting explicit pictures online has admitted she “never thought she’d be caught”.
Kirsty Buchan received numerous complaints from parents and resigned from her position at Bannerman High School in Baillieston in December 2022.
On Good Morning Britain on Wednesday, it was confirmed that the General Teaching Council had taken action by striking her off the teaching register.
The regulatory body found that Buchan had failed to conceal her identity and profession, and also concluded that her behaviour lacked integrity.
The physics teacher, who claimed to have made £60,000 in one month on the site, admitted she “knew the risks” but joined the site as her “son and bills come first”.
GMB via Supplied“We all need to take responsibility,” Kirsty said. “Of course I knew the risks, I’m a mum at the end of the day – my son comes first, my bills come first.
“I spoke to my son before doing it. He’s 14 now, going on 30, so I knew there was a risk involved.
“I used a different name, I’ve got my moniker Jessica Jackrabbit, I put a wig on and loads of make-up that didn’t look like me.
“I didn’t think I would be caught, I didn’t think I would be famous.”
Kirsty, who had taught at Bannerman High for six years, said the pupils never made rude comments or jokes to her face when her pictures were exposed.
She added: “I worked hard to get respect from them and build a positive relationship.
“It would be harder to build a good relationship with new pupils but the ones I already worked hard to build a relationship with, I’ve still got that bond with them to this day.”
When she was asked by presenter Richard Madley what the reaction was throughout the school, she added: “All support. I’ve had messages even this morning from all my old colleagues, and all the school kids still support me to this day.”
The GTCS allege that between 2022 and 2023 she set up an OnlyFans page using the moniker ‘Jessica Jackrabbitx’ and used the profile to sell explicit photos and videos online.
It is said her bio featured inappropriate sexual language, featuring statements such as “good teacher gone bad…really bad”.
She is also accused of failing to ensure that her profile could not be accessed by any member of the public including those under 18 without them needing to log in or subscribe to OnlyFans.
Buchan, of Coatbridge, Lanarkshire, is further said to have given a newspaper interview in December 2022 while still employed at the school about her decision to join the explicit site.
A Glasgow City Council spokeswoman said: “This teacher is no longer an employee of Glasgow City Council.
“The teacher was under investigation prior to resigning following the widespread distribution of wholly inappropriate and pornographic images.
“The council has a code of conduct that all employees should adhere to and a teacher who has actively pursued a second income on this type of website brings their school, the council and their profession into disrepute.
“We referred the details of our investigation to the General Teaching Council (GTC).”
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