A teacher accused of hitting a girl in a lesson has been exonerated by a disciplinary committee. The General Teaching Council ruled this week that Peter Hewitt was not guilty of professional misconduct. The incident took place in 2007 when he worked at Bishop Lovett C of E Middle School on the Isle of Wight. He told the hearing in Birmingham he had hit the pupil but it had been an accident. Aaron King, the committee’s chairman, said that after examining pupils’ evidence, the GTC believed him. “You gave clear evidence at this hearing that you did not deliberately intend to hit the pupil and that your contact with her was accidental,” Mr King said.