Leonora Rustamova, Teacher Who Wrote Racy Novel Featuring Pupils, Will Not Face GTC

Teacher Leonora Rustamova

First Posted: 13/02/2012 17:19 Updated: 13/02/2012 17:19   PA

A teacher who was sacked after she wrote a racy novel featuring some of her pupils said today it was "wonderful news" that she will not have to face a hearing of the General Teaching Council (GTC).

Leonora Rustamova, 41 - known as Miss Rusty to her pupils at Calder High School, in West Yorkshire - lost her job after her book detailed teenage fantasies, violence and a criminal drug den.

Her sacking from the school near Hebden Bridge prompted demonstrations by pupils and a campaign by parents to have her reinstated.

On Monday, she said she had been told by the GTC she had no case to answer and the matter would not even have to go in front of a hearing.

She said: "It is fantastic. I feel marvellous. It's wonderful news.

"I was feeling very cynical about the justice system but this decision has made me feel very positive again.

"It's been three years that I've been fighting for this."

Last year Rustamova took the school's governing body to an employment tribunal, claiming she was unfairly dismissed.

The tribunal dismissed her claim on a 2-1 majority, despite the tribunal judge - who chaired the hearings - finding in her favour.

But she won an appeal against this decision and is now waiting for a re-hearing of the employment tribunal by the original panel.

"It's given me a lot of confidence now to face the tribunal again," she said.

The book - Stop! Don't Read This! - originally appeared on a self-publishing website by accident before it was removed.

The story, which is peppered with expletives, names several teachers and features five Year 11 pupils - all real students and referred to as Miss Rusty's favourites.

One pupil is referred to as fantasising and flirting with Rustamova, who lives in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire.

The tribunal hearing heard how Rustamova decided to write it as way of engaging with a group of challenging boys.

"Stop! Don't read this: The Story" has now been published as a conventional book.

Rustamova taught for more than 11 years before she lost her job in May 2009.

The GTC said it does not give details of individual cases unless they proceed to a full hearing.

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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
George Hoffman
Drive into your dreams.
10:11 AM on 02/16/2012
Somebody has to get a life here.
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debtrev
dreams can come true
09:29 AM on 02/14/2012
very strange....
08:57 AM on 02/14/2012
Teachers use any excuse to engage with pupils,, new idea, very avant garde of course..but why not teach them without all the bells and whistles and endless excuses...Dressing like tramps to engage with them.. don't engage with them, inspire them, teach them, motivate them and set an example...wow that's a worry, dress smart and show them how they should act in the real world ..but I guess it is easier to find a less challenging way to carry out ones career.
majdf18148
I have nothing to declare but my curiosity
08:06 AM on 02/14/2012
I am all for progressive teaching, by that I mean teaching kids to at least read and write and do sums. We are losing our way in some of our schools, lagging well behind other EU countries in levels of literacy et al. Teachers aren't there to write "racy" novels that tittilate the minds of impressionable young pupils. They are there to teach, inspire, answer questions, encourage learning and be role models for their students.There is always a "line" which should not be crossed twixt teacher and student. It is an invisible line that maintains the respect and acknowledgement of the two vastly different roles. It doesn't have to preclude care and understanding but it should maintain the status quo. In my opinion this woman's book crossed that line, it transcended the rules of acceptability and provided personalised insights into her pupils that were better kept to herself. I don't believe she meant anything other than good with her book, I just think it was a thoroughly poor idea.
12:08 AM on 02/14/2012
She would be wise for here next book to change the names etc - and state that it dies not refer to any identifiable individuals - readers on whom the characters are modelled can then draw their own conclusions but no direct inference can be established - she has been reading Nabokov's " Lolita " to much methinks .

And teenage sex, fantasies, violence and drug taking - there is enough of this in the average secondary school pupils in reality without writing about it !!!!!!
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vividrick
I came, I saw...I had a cup of tea!
08:11 PM on 02/13/2012
To me it's just not the sort of thing a teacher should be doing...
06:55 PM on 02/13/2012
Were the teachers and pupils mentioned in the book, aware of this and consented? If they did, then I dont see what the problem is.
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minimemo
Can I be your friend...if they let me out...
10:07 PM on 02/13/2012
Parental consent would have been required and I cannot imagine any parent saying yes to this! I'd be having words behind the bike sheds with this woman if she had included my child in her 'book'.
05:31 PM on 02/14/2012
Bike sheds, haha, that made me smile :)