AN EX-SIXTH form head who quit his Blackpool job amid allegations of bullying by his head teacher will find out later this month if his £250,000 legal action has succeeded.

Chemistry teacher Dr David Grimshaw, former sixth-form head at Arnold School, Blackpool, quit his job with stress alleging that head teacher William Gillen had initiated "a reign of terror". He is suing the Lytham Road school for £250,000.

As a two-week hearing for the case drew to a close at Central London County Court, Judge Simon Goldstein heard submissions from both parties.

Dr Grimshaw's lawyer, Ian Burnett, told the judge: "This case concerns whether this headmaster first caused the illness of the claimant, psychiatric injury and hypertension and whether the conduct was unreasonable.

"To bully someone is evidently unreasonable and for that reason all large institutions these days go to the trouble of having anti-bullying policies. Over a period of time Dr Grimshaw was saying to his colleagues he was being sidelined and intimidated by Mr Gillen. The school did not act on the issues Dr Grimshaw was raising."

Dr Grimshaw claimed he was overloaded with work by the head and publicly humiliated on several occasions in front of staff and pupils. And Mr Burnett said witnesses had told of Mr Gillen's "classic bullying characteristics".

But Arnold School's QC, Edward Faulks, said: "What the headmaster was simply doing was showing his authority from time to time."

He dismissed Dr Grimshaw's claim that Mr Gillen deliberately snubbed him and cut him off from important school events and senior management team meetings.

"There was not a persistent attempt to undermine or exclude him," Mr Faulks said. What happened in this case was the work and his attitude became too much for him Dr Grimshaw.

He could not, in short, move on."

A judgement on the hearing is expected on February 24.