This is what one of the boys, now aged 17, had to say outside court:

The teenager says he is still suffering

"I am happy it was a custodial sentence, but not happy about the actual time he is serving, it should definitely be longer, a lot longer.

"It is 15 months since it happened and it has been sheer hell.

"I had to leave school because I just couldn't make myself go back.

"It was very difficult to come to court but at the same time I was relieved because for such a long time nothing happened and it seemed like it had been pushed to the sideline.

It will take me some time to get over this, if I ever do

One of the pupils Wilson abused

"By actually coming to court it meant something was going to happen, going to be done.

"It will take me some time to get over this, if I ever do.

"After what happened to me and what I went through, I just needed to tell people, I couldn't keep this in myself.

"If it had happened to someone else I would have felt really bad, it would have made it so much worse."

Mother speaks out

The mother of a 16-year-old boy Wilson abused, said: "Although justice has been done today with the custodial sentence, it does not do anything to help these boys to recover from what happened to them.

"My son left school because of the pressure on him as a result of this. The healing process starts now.

"Our son was the one who first went to the police and we are delighted that there has been a positive outcome for us today."

Sheriff's comments

Passing sentence, Sheriff Isobel Poole said: "I have taken into account not only the nature of the offences, the number of offences and the way in which they were committed, but also the serious breach of trust involved.

"I have also taken into account that you have no previous convictions and have a highly admired record in teaching.

"I have however reached the view that the only appropriate way of dealing with this is by way of a custodial sentence."