Suspended teacher Michael McIntyre ‘not fit’ to return to classroom

A former Bacchus Marsh teacher who told a student she was a “lovely chick” in a “pretty, revealing top”, has been banned from teaching for at least two years.

Michael McIntyre has been banned from teaching for at least two years.

A former Melbourne Marathon champion has been banned from his day job as a high school teacher for at least another two years and branded “not fit to teach” after admitting he kissed a teenage girl at school.

A Victorian Institute of Teaching disciplinary panel announced on Thursday that Michael McIntyre had engaged in serious misconduct and was not fit to teach.

Mr McIntyre, 63, admitted at a hearing in March that he gave a female student flowers for her 18th birthday.

Mr McIntyre told the panel he the gift was a “joke” and that he “humour has been an integral part of my teaching since I began”.

He also sent another girl a series of late night emails calling her a “beautiful girl” and saying “no one I have taught has ever shown me as much love as you”.

He also made comments about the girl being a “lovely chick” who wore a “pretty, revealing top”.

Michael McIntyre after winning the 1999 Melbourne Marathon.

Mr McIntyre taught for 37 years before he was suspended when students made complaints about his conduct at Bacchus Marsh Grammar.

Mr McIntyre admitted his conduct went “beyond an acceptable teacher student relationship” but pleaded with the hearing panel to let him return to the classroom, saying the disciplinary process had been “distressing”, had cost him $40,000 in legal fees and had ruined his “37-year reputation for kindness and compassion”.

Much of the May hearing was closed to the public, and the decision to cancel Mr McIntyre’s teaching registration and disqualify him from applying for registration for two years was made at a closed-door meeting in early April.

The disciplinary panel is yet to publicly release the reasons for its decision and it is unclear which of the string of allegations it found proven, or if any part of Mr McIntyre’s argument was accepted.

Mr McIntyre, who won the 1999 Melbourne Marathon and who has represented Australia, will be eligible to apply for teacher registration in April 2024.