Latest news with #TRA
The Independent
11 hours ago
- The Independent
Science teacher banned from classroom after telling pupil ‘I'm good at guessing bra sizes'
A teacher who told a pupil he was 'good at guessing sizes' of female bras has been banned from the classroom. Antony Jones, 59, who taught science at Humphry Davy School in Penzance, Cornwall, also created a Facebook Messenger group chat with a former Year 11 physics class to discuss the 'best looking' students at the school. A Teaching Regulation Agency (TRA) tribunal heard that Mr Jones set up the group chat with pupils who had left the school in 2019. In this group chat, he sent a message asking the former students, "So who was the best looking girl in your year?". He then voted in a poll created by one of the students, picking a former pupil with whom he had exchanged several messages in a 'sexually motivated' manner, the panel found. He had asked the student, known as pupil B, to send photographs of herself and sent several inappropriate messages, including: 'You are so photogenic! That translates to being beautiful! Hehe', and 'I thought you looked amazing last night x'. The 59-year-old also offered to take the 16-year-old student out for lunch and coffee. Within this group chat, Mr Jones also joined in on a joke about a former pupil measuring the size of his penis, according to the panel. The panel also found that the science teacher told a student he was 'good at guessing sizes' of female breasts, as well as asking her about her personal life and 'classroom romances'. The panel also found he hugged another student, known as pupil C. He also asked one student, referred to as pupil A, to "Spend some time with your least favourite teacher in a pub doing Maths?… drinks on me". The panel concluded from all of the evidence that Mr Jones has a 'fondness' for pupil B had led to him becoming attracted to her. The TRA said he was pursuing the 'remote prospect of a future sexual relationship' and, therefore, concluded his actions towards pupil B were sexually motivated. About voting in the poll, Mr Jones suggested that asking who was best looking was not necessarily the same thing as asking who was the most sexually attractive. However, the panel concluded the poll was not purely about aesthetics, but involved an element of sexual attractiveness. The TRA also found that in the group chat, Mr Jones 'indulged in sexual jokes and comments about another pupil from their year, as well as another teacher'. In mitigation, the panel found: 'Mr Jones had made admissions to a number of the allegations against him, and expressed a sincere apology and remorse for any pain that he had caused to anyone else by his conduct. 'He had shown some insight into the poor decision making that led to the allegations against him. 'However, the panel remained of the view that when giving evidence, Mr Jones had not shown full insight into his conduct or provided sufficient assurance that it would not be repeated should he find himself in a similar situation in future.' Mr Jones was been banned indefinitely from teaching in any school, sixth form college, relevant youth accommodation or children's home in England.
Times of Oman
4 days ago
- Business
- Times of Oman
E-commerce forum highlights consumer rights
Muscat: The Consumer Protection Authority (CPA) on Monday organised an e-commerce forum titled "E-commerce Amid Consumer Rights and Supplier Duties". The forum was held in cooperation with the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Investment Promotion, under the auspices of Eng. Omar Hamdan Al Ismaili, Chairman of the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA). The forum highlighted e-consumer rights, the duties and obligations of e-commerce licensees, e-commerce legislation, commercial fraud and electronic fraud in the age of digital economy and the role of government institutions amid the e-commerce experience. The forum saw a large turnout of representatives of government and private establishments and an elite group of experts and specialists in the field of e-commerce, who underscored the significance of the forum in showcasing a safe and sound culture of e-commerce. The event included a visual introduction display, followed by a presentation on an e-shopping campaign. The presentation was made by Dr. Munira Al Fikry, a media specialist at the CPA. The forum included an exhibition featuring the authority's most important electronic systems and applications related to the e-shopping process. It also included the launch of an opinion poll to measure cognitive awareness. On the sidelines of the forum, a public awareness campaign was launched under the slogan "Safe Shopping". The campaign aims to promote the culture of safe shopping in the digital business environment, in line with the objectives of Oman Vision 2040, which places the economy and development at the heart of sustainable development strategies and technology-based economy. The forum was a link in range of activities that coincide with an ongoing 'Safe Online Shopping Campaign' aimed to raise community awareness, promote online shopping practices, ensure the establishment of a fair and transparent digital consumer environment and develop practical solutions to current challenges, as well as building a digital future that meets everyone's needs and aspirations.
Observer
5 days ago
- Business
- Observer
TRA issues new regulation on telecom tariffs
MUSCAT: The Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) has introduced a new regulatory framework governing retail tariffs for telecommunications services in Oman. The new regulation replaces the earlier framework established by Decision No 27/2016. This updated regulation includes comprehensive provisions relating to the pricing of telecom services offered to individual consumers, businesses and government institutions. It also incorporates mechanisms for monitoring and addressing pricing practices that may breach fair competition thresholds. Targeting all licensed providers of public telecommunications services in the retail market, the regulation is designed to align with global and regional developments in the sector. According to the TRA, the framework aims to enhance fair competition, ensure transparency and safeguard the rights and choices of beneficiaries in the Omani telecom market. The move comes amid rapid shifts in telecom technologies and business models, making tariff regulation a critical element in ensuring market stability and consumer protection. — ONA
Times of Oman
5 days ago
- Business
- Times of Oman
Telecommunications Regulatory Authority issues bylaw on regulating retail tariffs
Muscat: The Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) has issued a bylaw on price control titled 'Retail Tariff Regulation' that repeals the regulation issued vide Decision No. 27/2016. The new bylaw comprises several regulatory provisions, including general provisions on retail tariffs for telecommunications services, special provisions for tenders offered to commercial beneficiaries and government institutions, and additional regulatory provisions on monitoring pricing practices that may exceed certain levels. The regulation targets all licensees who provide public telecommunications services in retail markets. The new bylaw seeks to keep pace with regional and international updates in the telecommunications sector. It also seeks to promote fair competition and ensure transparency in the retail telecommunications services market, while at the same time safeguarding the rights and choices of beneficiaries.
Daily Mirror
11-06-2025
- Daily Mirror
Married teacher, 53, had sex with teenage pupil in school cupboard
Philip Culling was allowed to quietly resign after having an affair with a student but thanks to a whistleblower, the disgraced teacher has been held to account years later A deputy headteacher who performed a sex act in a cupboard with a pupil at a top private school for girls has been banned from teaching for life. Married Philip Culling was a child protection officer at the Godolphin and Latymer School in west London when he targeted the 'vulnerable' pupil. A director of music at the school, the 53-year-old's attempts to groom the girl included taking her to a pub for his birthday and buying her flowers. They had oral sex in a cupboard and once kissed in a school lift. The actions of the father-of-three, who was supposed to be responsible for safeguarding children at the school, were said to be an 'open secret' and he was allowed to quietly resign in 2014 following an investigation into his conduct. The school informed the police of their findings but two years later, he was able to take up another job in education. Eight years after Culling's resignation, his previous actions were reported by a whistleblower and he was referred to the Teaching Regulation Agency (TRA). A subsequent tribunal heard the teacher and the pupil, known as Person B to preserve her anonymity, had begun exchanging emails from 2010, many of which he told her to delete. Culling also obtained Person B's personal phone number using school records and began texting her. A Valentine's card was shown to the panel signed 'Phil', which was addressed to "by far the most gorgeous and wonderful person in the entire world". By 2012 the teacher was telling the pupil he loved her and a year later, they had kissed for the first time. "From then on, they would kiss when they met up," the panel heard, including on one occasion in the school's lift. Person B told the panel she had (performed a sex act with the teacher) in a cupboard in his office early in the morning on several occasions. Culling called the girl the 'LOML', short for Love Of My Life. He also made her CDs and sent her flowers to wish her good luck for her A-level exams. On the night of her school leavers' party, he secretly met up with the pupil in a public park where he took her virginity, the panel heard. The pupil said that over the summer when nobody was home, the teacher came round once a week to have sex with her. After she had moved into a flat with somebody else "a lot of sexual acts including touching and oral sex happened in very public areas", the tribunal heard. Panel chair Jo Palmer-Tweed said the teacher had taken advantage "of the position of trust he was in towards a vulnerable child for his own gratification", adding: "Mr Culling exploited his position to advance a sexual relationship with a vulnerable pupil, and his misconduct was of the utmost seriousness." Person B, she said, had felt 'shame' as a result of the relationship which "tainted her memories of her school experience". Famous alumni at the £33,000-a-year school include celebrity chef Nigella Lawson and Hollywood actress Kate Beckinsale. The girl told the tribunal that Culling had asked her to lie about the relationship in 2014 amid fears he would lose his job and went onto urge her "not to engage" with the investigation in 2023. A spokesperson for the school said: "The TRA's report reveals a shocking and deeply disturbing pattern of past behaviour which we unequivocally condemn. We fully support the TRA's decision to bar Philip Culling from working in the teaching profession ever again. "He left Godolphin and Latymer 11 years ago after a comprehensive governor-led investigation into his conduct. The Hammersmith and Fulham LADO was fully aware and supported the school's actions at the time, and the police were also informed. "Information and evidence not previously available to the school have now come to light through the TRA process and we are reviewing this. Above all, we are devastated to learn that a former pupil suffered in this way."
