A SENIOR science teacher is to defend allegations he stripped to his pants, kissed a pupil and slept in a hotel room with teenagers following a senior prom.

Richard Hutchison was principal teacher of chemistry, physics and biology and head of the science department when he is alleged to have become drunk at an end-of-term party.

He is accused of kissing a pupil, being in a "state of undress" and sleeping in a hotel room with pupils while a teacher at Renfrewshire's Johnstone High.

He now faces being struck off the teaching register.

The events are said to have taken place during and after the senior prom at Burnhouse Manor Hotel in Beith, Ayr, in June 2015.

They came to light when pupils took to social media the following day to discuss events.

Mr Hutchison will now face a General Teaching Council (GTC) misconduct hearing on January 23 and 24.

The charges state he took off his suit and stripped to his shirt and pants in front of pupils on June 12 and 13, 2015, while under the influence of alcohol.

Mr Hutchison was dismissed from Johnstone High and now no longer works for the local authority.

At the time of the incident, a petition was signed by hundreds of pupils and parents asking for him to be given his job back.

No complaint was made to police.