Kirsty Buchan, 39, from Coatbridge, North Lanarkshire, resigned from Bannerman High School in Baillieston in December 2022, following the exposure of her online activity.
The General Teaching Council for Scotland (GTCS) has now ruled that her conduct amounted to professional misconduct, formally removing her from the register.
READ MORE: Circumstances surrounding Cole Cooper’s disappearance ‘remain unexplained’, cops say
The BBC reported that GTCS found that Buchan had failed to conceal her identity or her profession while running an explicit OnlyFans account under the alias Jessica Jackrabbit, which she also promoted publicly on Instagram.
Her profile described her as a “good teacher gone bad” with a “sexy tight body.”
According to Gary Burton, solicitor and presenting officer for the GTCS, Buchan “used her profession as a selling tool” and demonstrated “zero insight into her conduct.”
He added that there had been a significant blurring of her professional and private life, and that the school had become “synonymous with having an OnlyFans teacher.”
The panel concluded that Buchan’s behaviour “lacked integrity” and recommended a two-year minimum before she could reapply for registration—if ever.
Prior to the GTCS’s decision, Ms Buchan told BBC News she felt there was no point in going to the hearing because “it’s clear they’ve already made their mind up”.
She said: “I didn’t want to leave my job, but I also had to make more money. I even had other jobs before going down the OnlyFans road – I worked in Tesco, I worked as an elf at a Braehead Christmas event. I was always a hard worker.
“My images were illegally downloaded and shared with pupils in the school that I worked in – the career that I worked my whole life to get. So I had no choice but to leave.”
Headteacher Seonaidh Black described Buchan as a “bubbly and enthusiastic” teacher who showed poor judgment online.
She confirmed that Buchan’s social media accounts were publicly accessible and that informal discussions had previously been held to address boundary concerns.
In November 2022, Buchan was signed off work with stress. Shortly after, senior pupils in S5 and S6 began circulating screenshots from her OnlyFans page.
READ MORE: Spurned cop who stalked ex-partner caught driving while disqualified
Staff were alerted when a deputy head shared screenshots reportedly viewed by students. One email, sent from a pupil’s account and allegedly penned by a parent, contained images of Buchan topless and in lingerie.
Ms Black said, “It was obvious everyone knew what was going on.”
Around the same time, staff at the school were taking part in strikes over pupil behaviour. Ms Black said the timings of the revelations about Ms Buchan’s OnlyFans page were “coincidental or perhaps deliberate”.
She said: “The OnlyFans thing happened two days before teachers were on a picket line at the school gate.”
Ms Black said the school had tried to make sure young people felt “valued for who they are, not thinking everything is about what’s on show on social media”.
She said: “What doesn’t help is when your teacher is on a website where the content they are presenting has a pornographic element to it. We’re trying to say ‘this is what life is all about’ and the role model – the teacher – is countering what we’re trying to teach.”
Ms Black added it would be “a long time before the situation involving Kirsty is no longer talked about”.
The hearing heard that Ms Buchan had given a number of interviews to the Daily Record newspaper, where she said she was able to make £50,000 per month through OnlyFans.
In a video interview, played to the panel, she said it was “the definition of insanity” for her to be working long hours as a teacher when she could make more money to “sit on her behind”.
She said: “If people have a problem, then it’s because they can’t do it themselves.”
GTCS investigators confirmed that parts of her OnlyFans profile were accessible without a subscription, further blurring the lines of privacy.
READ MORE: Woman jailed in UK’s first monkey torture case
Investigating officer Hannah Oakley said members of the public could access a limited section of Ms Buchan’s OnlyFans profile without having to sign up or subscribe.
She said she was able to do this as there had been several press articles about Ms Buchan’s online activity, which included screenshots of her OnlyFans profile name.
She said: “I knew exactly what I was looking for and where I was looking for [it].”
The GTCS found that all allegations against Ms Buchan had been proven and decided that she should be struck off on Monday afternoon.
Glasgow City Council conducted its own investigation and issued a firm response: “The council has a code of conduct that all employees should adhere to and a teacher who has actively pursued a second income on this type of website brings their school, the council and their profession into disrepute.”
