SCOTLAND’S leading teaching union has offered a job to a disgraced former headteacher who was sacked after getting drunk on a school trip and having “improper” contact with pupils.

The Educational Institute of Scotland (EIS) selected Gillian Rew as its “preferred” candidate for a £37,000-a-year post days before she admitted to the behaviour at a watchdog hearing.

A Scottish Conservatives spokesman said: “It is entirely a matter for the EIS as to who it employs. Nonetheless, some parents might have concerns about this particular situation.”

Ms Rew was fired from her £74,000-a-year post at Arbroath High School in 2015 after drinking eight glasses of wine on a trip with S6 pupils to the Lockerbie Manor activity centre in Dumfries and Galloway.

The General Teaching Council for Scotland (GTCS), which regulates the profession, then launched a probe into Ms Rew that could see her banned from teaching.

The watchdog alleged she had been under the influence of alcohol on the trip and engaged in “inappropriate conversations with, made inappropriate comments to and had improper contact with pupils”.

It also accused her of breaching child protection guidelines: “In light of the above it is alleged that your fitness to teach is impaired and you are unfit to teach as a result of breaching the General Teaching Council for Scotland’s Code of Professionalism and Conduct 2012.”

The GTCS staged a procedural hearing last month, at which Ms Rew unsuccessfully tried to have the case heard in private.

However, the EIS then offered her a job in “professional learning” at the union.

A spokesperson for the EIS said: “Ms Rew interviewed for a position within the EIS Education department.”

“She has been identified as preferred candidate for a vacancy within the education department, subject to the normal pre-appointment procedures.”