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A teacher has admitted drinking vodka at her classroom desk and months later drink-driving with her son in the car. In an emotional apology Danielle Fleming frequently broke down in tears as she gave evidence to a professional standards hearing.

Fleming told the panel she had been in “an incredibly dark place” in events that led up to her drinking at Maesteg School on May 4, 2023. On the second day of a virtual hearing Education Workforce Council hearing on Wednesday the teacher also described how she got a drink-driving conviction after downing half a bottle of wine and getting behind the wheel with her son in the car.

Questioned by EWC presenting officer James McCarthy former head of expressive arts Fleming said she had been caught drink-driving in December 2023 – seven months after drinking vodka at school cost her her job. Asked how much she had drunk and whether a child was in the car Fleming said she drank half a bottle of wine "not long before driving" and had been going to drop her son at training.

On February 26 last year Fleming was convicted of drink-driving for which she was fined £814 and disqualified from driving for 25 months. Asked how she felt Fleming said she was "disgusted with myself" and the actions were caused by ill health and totally out of character.

Describing events leading to her drinking at school Fleming said she had felt panicky and overwhelmed at work. After a sleepless night she arrived at Maesteg School at 7.30am on May 4, 2023, with a bottle of vodka and took what she said was only "two shots" from it just before she should have been overseeing a GCSE textile exam.

Earlier head teacher Helen Jones had told the panel that Fleming, who had worked at the school since 2009, smelled strongly of alcohol and was “incoherent” when she and colleagues found her that morning. The teacher was slumped with vomit on her clothes and a nearby bin, she said.

But giving evidence Fleming denied she was incoherently drunk or fell asleep. She said she was in a “heightened state” owing to stress and had vomited but not slept and had just closed her eyes.

Saying she could not express how sorry she was the experienced teacher, described as "exemplary", told the hearing she had been mentally unwell at the time. She felt pressure at work and home and wished she’d sought help.

“I had set myself an impossibly high bar to be the best employee, wife, and mum,” she told the panel. Taking frequent breaks to compose herself as she wiped away tears she said she had put herself under enormous pressure and “it was at this point I completely broke down”.

On May 4, 2023, she had not long returned to work after periods of time off between December 2022 and March 2023. The panel had earlier been told that Fleming had unfounded “imposter syndrome” after being promoted to head of faculty and had sought help dealing with some colleagues.

She had come into school in the Easter holidays to help pupils prepare for exams and had run the Paris Marathon at half term. But she felt the pressure of exams looming and had not had the confidence to tell people how she felt and was “burned out”.

Wiping her eyes Fleming said she had “put everyone else first” and herself under “huge pressure”. She “did not have the capability or confidence to share those feelings” and admitted she had drunk alcohol at school twice before in January and early February 2023.

She told the panel she had “felt awkward and inadequate a lot of the time” and “very stressed and overwhelmed”. This was partly what led her to misuse alcohol but she had not touched a drop since being caught drink-driving, she said.

Fleming, who was said to be respected, successful, and popular, said she felt “under scrutiny” at work after taking time off. She said she had had no stress- or risk-assessment and began to “overcompensate” when she returned in March 2023.

During hours of emotional testimony and answering questions to the panel Fleming said she was “deeply sorry and remorseful”. She had been unwell but had got help, was not drinking, and understood the full gravity of her actions, she said.

“I was making poor decisions and used alcohol on more than one occasion. It almost cost me my marriage,” she admitted.

“I felt very alone, out of sync, and uncertain about the future. I could no longer keep saying to others: 'Don’t worry about me'.”

She said she had nearly lost everything but was determined to rebuild her life. She has gained a teaching English as a foreign language qualification, translates into Welsh for the Welsh Government digital service and government website, and wants to return to teaching.

No children had been in the classroom when she drank the vodka between 7.30am and 8am on May 4, 2023, none could have had access to the alcohol, and none had seen the teacher being collected, unwell, by her husband and taken home, the hearing was told.

Fleming faces the following allegations, all of which she admits:

That:

1: She attended work on Thursday, May 4, 2023:

a) under the influence of alcohol and/or

b) consumed alcohol whilst on school premises.

The facts above amount to unacceptable professional conduct either individually and/or together and that:

2. On February 26, 2024, she was convicted of drink-driving, fined £814, and disqualified from driving for 25 months.

The hearing continues.