A PRIVATE girls' school has been ordered to pay £45,000 in compensation to a teacher who was dismissed over a relationship with a former pupil.

Andrew Bolton, 36, met Shona Upton, now 19, when she was one of his pupils at Church High School, in Newcastle.

A month after she left the school, they began an affair, but headteacher Lesley Smith believed the relationship had begun months earlier than the couple said, and Mr Bolton was dismissed.

The former head of maths made an unfair dismissal claim against the 118-year-old, £1,220-a-term school.

Mr Bolton said Miss Upton left in July 2002 after she finished her A-levels and that their affair began the following month.

Suspicions were raised when Ms Upton was seen to drunkenly grope Mr Bolton in a pub one night.

Mrs Smith told the Newcastle hearing that although students finished their exams on July 5, they were still enrolled as students at the school until August 31, 2002.

She went on to say that she believed the relationship had been developing since about October the previous year.

She said: "There was an instance where Shona was seen to be alone with him in a classroom.

"The fact that they were spending time alone together was in itself inappropriate."

Earlier this year, the tribunal panel found in favour of Mr Bolton. In its findings, the tribunal criticised school chiefs for relying on rumours rather than hard evidence when they came to dismiss Mr Bolton.

And they said the way the school went about the disciplinary proceedings was unsatisfactory.

Mr Bolton was awarded £45,710 after a hearing concluded he had been unfairly dismissed and had not contributed to his dismissal.

About £22,360 was awarded for pension loss after the panel ruled that there was a 50 per cent chance the dismissal would damage Mr Bolton's future and that he would not regain his former position.

Ms Upton's father, Philip, said yesterday: "This was about Andrew clearing his name and not about the money.

"It has been a very stressful process for everyone and the amount of compensation awarded goes some way in reflecting that.

"Andrew is trying to rebuild his career now. He and Shona just want to put this behind them and get on with their lives."