Parents of school pupils are furious after discovering their childrens’ headteacher had been caught – drink-driving.
Karen Ross, 52, was banned from driving for a year and fined £500 after her car was spotted travelling erratically on a dual-carriageway.
She was seen by police almost clipping a verge on a roundabout and failed a roadside breath test.
Ross, headteacher of Treviglas College in Newquay, Cornwall, was found to have 56 mcg of alcohol in 100ml of breath – the legal limit is 35mcg.
The offence occurred on July 18 and she pleaded guilty at Truro Magistrates’ Court on August 29.
But parents at her school say they only recently discovered the drink driving conviction.
One father, who would not be named, slammed the school for not keeping parents informed.
He said: “The school has not sent anything out to parents to deny or explain what everyone is saying. That’s more the issue for me. We should be informed.”
One pupil said: “She’s the headteacher and she should be setting an example.
”If someone gets caught smoking then they get told off but she was caught drinking and driving.”
Mrs Ross, of Treskillard near Redruth, Cornwall, was pulled over and breathalysed by police after hitting a curb on the A30 in Cornwall.
The school’s governors have declined to comment on the conviction saying it was a “personal matter”.
Guidelines by the Teaching Agency on behalf of the Department of Education say a drink-driving conviction can amount to misconduct as it can affect a teacher’s ability to act as a role model and brings the profession into disrepute.
A spokeswoman from the Department of Education said they were not aware of Mrs Ross’s case.
Mrs Ross declined to comment on her conviction, but Patricia Hewitt, from the school’s media team, said: “The issue is a matter for the governing body to deal with as her employers.”