Teacher fired from Newton Mearns school after showing S1 pupils controversial violent film

Jonathan Guetta, a former Hebrew teacher who worked at Mearns Castle High, was dismissed after S1 pupils were shown the film Waltz With Bashir about the Israel - Lebanon War.

He faced disciplinary action after showing the film, which contains extreme violence, to pupils as young as 12 during an after-school class.

Several parents complained to the school following the screening, with one complaining “the film was wholly inappropriate for children, it contains explicit pornography, children being killed and psychological issues.”

Several pupils were removed from the school temporarily by their parents following the incident.

At his employment tribunal, Michelle Sutherland, employment judge, said: “It contains war violence, including real life video footage of the aftermath of the massacre showing lifeless bodies of adults and children. It also has a brief pornographic scene.”

The class watched 20 minutes of the film, with the teaching standing in front of the television during inappropriate scenes.