Man, 30, posed as teen to rejoin his old school for two years - and nobody recognised him

Brian MacKinnon re-enrolled at Bearsden Academy in Glasgow in 1993 after claiming he had been unfairly kicked out of university when he failed his medicine exams twice

A 30-year-old man posed as a teenager to rejoin his old high school for two years - and nobody recognised him or asked him for a birth certificate.

Brian MacKinnon re-enrolled at Bearsden Academy in Glasgow in 1993, giving himself a new identity as a Canadian called Brandon Lee and putting on an accent to make his story more plausible.

At the age of 32, he gained five top marks in his Highers, the equivalent of A-levels and then went on to university.

However, at that moment his deception was finally uncovered when someone told the education authorities and leaked the story to the press.

After his con was exposed, many wondered how MacKinnon had not been recognised at the school for two years.

He recalled: "I was never trying to recreate my original schooldays.

"I was popular enough the first time and got very good grades but I didn't really enjoy my last two years at school.

"Work moved slowly and I had been unable to do one of the subjects I wanted to do. When I went back as Brandon Lee I wasn't trying to be popular."

During his time at Bearsden Academy, MacKinnon also took part in extra-curricular activities. He was on the football team and even had a starring role in the school production of South Pacific.

His story was told in a documentary featuring Alan Cumming as Brian. My Old School was directed by Jono McLeod, who was a 16-year-old classmate of the imposter – who he still calls Brandon – back in 1993.

Jono recalled that Brian was a bit of a geek when he first joined class 5C at the academy, but that he quickly rose up the social ladder to become a popular student.

He said: "A lot of people in the class have their own take on what ‘Brandon’ did but for the most part they have a fondness for him.

"I know that's not across the board. The film is not a takedown of him but I don't agree with all the decisions he made back then."

Explaining his hoax, MacKinnon said he had got good grades the first time round and had won a place at Glasgow University to study medicine.

However, while attending the course, he failed his exams twice and was made to leave the course in 1983.

He claimed his expulsion had been unfair and that he had been ill at the time which, he said, the university had not taken into account, although it denied any wrongdoing.

After his dad died of cancer, MacKinnon decided to have another go at studying and created the false identity of Brandon to get into the school.

He told teachers that his opera singer mum was dead and that his dad sent him to live with his gran in Scotland, before dying himself shortly afterwards.

Brian submitted two references to the school, one from Canada and one from London. They were not checked.

He recalled that the first time he walked back through the school gates was "nerve-wracking". He added: "I was aware of the fact that at any moment a question could arise that I couldn't answer.

"I might be asked for a birth certificate, but I wasn't.

"I simply kept my head down, looked shy and boyish and that's all I could do – and it presented no problems at all."

Brian said he only met one teacher who had been there when he was at the school the first time around, but the teacher did not recognise him.

Unsurprisingly, Brian looked older than the other pupils, and was taller than most of them. Despite this, and his grown-up preference for carrying a briefcase rather than a rucksack like his classmates, nobody twigged he was almost twice their age.

When the story came out, many people were alarmed by the fact Brian had been studying and spending time out of school with much younger female pupils – although when he appeared on stage in South Pacific he avoided kissing his 16-year-old love interest in the show.

Brian told classmates his older looks were down to premature ageing, although he was once almost rumbled for telling a friend he remembered the day Elvis Presley died in 1977 – the year he was supposed to have been born.

When the story broke in 1995, Brian reportedly turned down a six-figure book deal to tell his side of the story – but then self-published an autobiography two years later.

Now, he prefers to avoid talking about his second school time, saying: "I did what I did. That was then, this is now. I kept my head down and got on with it."