Teacher who gave unruly boy a clip round the ear quits after police probe

Family occasions went by the board as the married father-of-one co-ordinated his school's Duke of Edinburgh award scheme and organised sporting trips abroad.

But yesterday, 46-year-old Mr Mackenzie's career was in ruins after he was forced to quit for giving an unruly foul-mouthed pupil a clip around the ear.

The teacher, a PE master for 18 years, retaliated when the 15-year-old boy swore at him in a corridor during break-time. He was said to have cuffed the boy around the head before dragging him towards a flight of stairs.

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He was suspended and subjected to a joint investigation by police and council officials before agreeing to resign from his £35,000-a-year post after CCTV footage of the incident was examined.

The boy - who did not require hospital treatment - was excluded from school for five days but was allowed back into lessons.

His parents are understood to have complained to police about the incident but then withdrawn their allegations.

Former pupils and colleagues are angry and dismayed about Mr Mackenzie's departure from Knutsford High School in Cheshire. Up to 900 have signed an on-line petition in a campaign to have him reinstated.

The campaign was instigated by former pupil Simon Giddings, 24, now an IT systems consultant. He said: "Mr Mackenzie was a hell of a good teacher with a lot of traditional values.

"Whilst he was very firm he was very fair. He would give pupils a good ear bashing and make them pick up litter but there was a reason - he earned respect.

"This was a teacher who sacrificed so much of his time for others. He was so dedicated he often missed family birthdays because he was away on school trips with the pupils. He gave the job his all and now he's out of one."

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The incident happened during a lunch break last month. One source at the school said: "The boy was no angel and he had been goading people week in week out.

"On this occasion he raised his arms and pushed Mr Mackenzie in the chest and then called him 'a Scottish c***'.

"Is it any wonder the teacher gave it him back? We believe he struck the lad then pulled him towards some stairs.

"None of us are saying what he did was right but if you took it out of a school situation here is a case of a lad raising an arm to someone, goading and intimidating and using bad language."

After the incident the boy made a complaint to police and officers mounted an investigation with the education authority.

A police spokesman said: "Officers investigated an allegation of assault at the school but following a joint inquiry with the local authority it was agreed that it should be dealt with as an internal disciplinary matter."

Mr Mackenzie had been involved in many outdoor sporting programmes and football exchange visits in the U.S., and regularly organised school ski trips to the Alps.

In a letter to pupils, headmaster Kevin Hollins said: "We would like to thank Mr Mackenzie for all he has done for students.

"His ski trips to the Alps and the football exchange with Boston have been real highlights for many students. Others have gained much from the Duke of Edinburgh Award which he co-ordinated."

A Cheshire County Council spokesman said: "Mr Mackenzie has tendered his resignation and that has been accepted. As far as the school in concerned that is the end of the matter."

Mr Mackenzie was not available for comment.