Former Bacchus Marsh Grammar teacher Michael McIntyre says kissing student was ‘instinct’

A former Bacchus Marsh Grammar teacher says kissing a teenage student on the cheek was “instinctive, not calculated” as he fights to get his job back.

Michael McIntyre says kissing a student on the cheek was ‘instinctive’.

Former Bacchus Marsh Grammar teacher Michael McIntyre told a teenage girl “I love you so much it may cost me my job” but has told a disciplinary hearing his comments were taken out of context.

Mr McIntyre, a former Melbourne marathon champion and teacher of 37 years, was grilled under cross-examination before Victorian Institute of Teaching panel earlier this week as he fights to return to the classroom.

He denied making a “calculated decision” to kiss a teenage girl on the cheek, saying it was an “instinctive” act.

He also denied giving special favours to a small number of girls in his class, including a girl he kissed and gave alcohol, despite her being underage.

But he admitted the girls were his “favourites”.

“Everybody has favourites,” he said.

Michael McIntyre enjoys a drink after winning the 1999 Melbourne Marathon.

In a late night email to a girl, Mr McIntyre wrote, “I love you so much it may cost me my job”, but said he loved all his students.

“I said to my class, I love this class, I love you,” Mr McIntyre told the panel.

He also told the girl “no one means as much to me as you do”.

Mr McIntyre said he gave flowers and cards to girls, only for them to begin spreading “rumours” about him.

“Rumours started going around and they started feeling uncomfortable about it,” he said.

He said only girls in his class received the flowers because “the boys hadn’t … turned 18”.

He said following his suspension, he had contacted some of his former students but only after they asked why he was no longer teaching.

“I was their favourite teacher,” he said.

Mr McIntyre admitted it was “stupid” and a “joke” to give an underage girl a can of beer.

“That can wasn’t meant for consumption,” said under cross-examination.

Most of the hearing into Mr McIntyre’s conduct has been closed to the public, but the panel member said there were no claims of sexual misconduct.

When asked by the panel why he thought there were rules in place to ensure teachers maintained professional boundaries, Mr McIntyre said: “There has to be a line in the sand … if you can step over that line, you can potentially step over that line further and further and further”.

“The line is there to protect students,” he said.

The panel returns at a later date.