Accused: Teacher James McMenemy
- Facing 15 abuse charges after school is closed
- 'Youngsters feared staff who covered up violence'
James McMenemy is also said to have hurled rocks at the teenagers and thrown them into rivers and streams.
The incidents allegedly happened at Kerelaw residential school in Ayrshire, which looked after children with significant emotional, social and behavioural problems.
It was closed amid a police probe into abuse in 2006. Mr McMenemy is facing 15 charges of violence towards pupils and failing to comply with guidelines.
One charge brought by the General Teaching Council for Scotland (GTCS) claims he threatened to make false allegations of criminality against the youngsters.
At a competency hearing this week a former pupil, now a prisoner at Barlinnie, told how he was attacked by the 48-year-old teacher.
Daniel Higgins, who the GTCS heard was in custody for a driving offence, arrived in handcuffs to give evidence against Mr McMenemy.
He admitted he had been expelled after he brought a Ghurka knife to school with the intention of attacking McMenemy.
Higgins, 26, said he had been in a fight with the teacher in a quiet room at Kerelaw when he was 14 or 15 years old.
He had been taken out of class and ended up 'rolling on the floor' with the teacher.
'I can't remember how it started but I remember how it finished,' he added.
Shutdown:The controversial Kerelaw residential school in Ayrshire for vulnerable children
'I had cuts and burns from where I was dragged to the floor. At the time I thought this was just normal, this is what happens.
'There was no point complaining because this happened all the time. It wasn't just McMenemy, but a lot of them.
'They were just terrorising youngsters. I didn't think it was right but I was only a wee guy.'
A senior manager at Glasgow City Council said there was a culture among teachers at the school of covering up violence.
Mary Moran said staff used inappropriate force to restrain pupils and acted together to prevent information getting out.
During her first visit to the school in May 2003 she encountered a culture of staff not following proper procedures She said: 'There was an air in the senior management of 'This is Kerelaw, we do things our own way.'
'They covered for each other.'
She said reports had highlighted the school was failing pupils drastically, and the youngsters feared their teachers.
Kerelaw opened as a residential school in 1970 with a secure unit added in 1983. In 2006, the school was closed after allegations of child abuse and bullying.
Former art teacher Matthew George was jailed for ten years for a series of physical and sexual assaults on some of the children.
In 2007 Glasgow Council reported that there had been up to 400 allegations of physical or sexual abuse.
The conduct is said to have taken place between 1993 and 2004.
My earliest childhood memories include Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, as a result of abuse that occured outside my immediate family. Children reach out for help HOPING someone will hear them. When adults fail to listen & adults call children liars & adults choose to deny a child help; children are tragically conditioned to remain silent. Children don't WANT to be bad. I was born to a loving family & went from being a focused student who wanted to be successful, to being a struggling student who suffered mental anguish (from physical & sexual assaults by strangers). During school hours, instead of hearing my teachers, I was mentally fighting for reasons to live "with" the mental pain that consumed me. Parents, Teachers, Law Enforcement are quick to label troubled children and blame them for lacking focus & accuse them of not trying hard enough. They're quick to criminalize children for their behavior but slow to help children heal from their underlined issues of abuse. Children who suffer Abuse are at risk of depression, cyclic abuse, PTSD, violence & suicide. Abused children are among the most misunderstood & the most medically in need. PTSD doesn't go away. Art saved me from becoming a teenage suicide & I used my art to create an ArtHelpsPTSD Suicide Awareness video to help parents, teachers, clergy & law enforcement understand what it is like to be "THAT CHILD" who is suffering abuse AND NO ONE KNOWS. Most everyone has family & friends but not everyone knows when their loved ones are considering suicide. Men women & children need Help. Watch the video, help make a difference & please share the link forward. [Link]