Latest news with #inappropriate behavior


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.


The Independent
a day ago
- The Independent
Disgraced science teacher, 59, set up group chat with pupils to discuss students' bodies
A teacher has been banned from the classroom after setting up a group chat with former pupils to discuss the 'best looking' students at the school. Antony Jones, 59, taught science at Humphry Davy School in Penzance Cornwall, when he created a Facebook Messenger group chat with a former Year 11 physics class. 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.


The Independent
04-06-2025
- Health
- The Independent
Teacher sent sexual messages to pupil and encouraged him to smoke cannabis
A teacher has been found to have sent messages about her sexual encounters to a pupil on Instagram, as well as encouraging him to drink alcohol and smoke cannabis with her. Charlotte Doman, 32, was a history teacher in Grays, Essex, when the inappropriate contact with the boy began. In messages the teacher sent to the pupil, referred to as Pupil A by a Teaching Regulation Agency panel, she called him 'little duck' and told him she loved him, the hearing was told. She did not attend her misconduct hearing, but in written statements said the 'little duck' nickname was 'not romantic' and said that she was 'letting (Pupil A) know that someone cared about his existence' in telling him she loved him. Ms Doman, now 34, sent dozens of messages to Pupil A between April and May 2023, including one where she said: 'You're not even legal or an adult or anything. Like, am I taking advantage of you? Some days it feels like you're taking advantage of me lol.' In messages seen by the panel, she told him: 'YOU have all the control in this relationship' and also said: 'Love that you're still ignoring me. I'm gonna go get f***** up'. She also told Pupil A details about her sexual relationships, the panel found, saying in an Instagram message: 'One night I ended up with three different guys'. The 34-year-old admitted she encouraged Pupil A to drink alcohol and smoke cannabis with her, and said in a statement: 'I am unsure why any of this occurred. 'I certainly don't behave like this myself. I drink alcohol less than once a month and never to excess, and I've never taken drugs.' She made comments about the pupil's appearance and messaged him saying: 'I literally go get waxed every eight weeks for no-one to appreciate it', the hearing was told. The panel heard Ms Doman encouraged Pupil A and his friends to 'pull sickies' on a day she was off school, and at least once invited Pupil A to spend time alone with her. 'Are you and the boys going to be okay if I have to be off sick? You could always pull sickies and we'll all just game at mine all day,' she said in an Instagram message to Pupil A. The teacher admitted she had sent Pupil A messages outside of school hours and sometimes in the early hours of the morning, and acknowledged she told the pupil to 'remove all trace' of her from his phone on May 22 that year. Ms Doman denied that her conduct was sexually motivated and said she saw Pupil A as 'like her child', but the panel ruled on the contrary. The panel said it did not see any other reason as to why Ms Doman discussed her past sexual experiences, problems in her relationship and a graphic sexual extract from a book 'other than if it were in pursuit of sexual gratification or in pursuit of a future sexual relationship'. 'The context of the majority of messages…did not imply that Ms Doman just simply saw Pupil A like her child', the panel said. The panel ruled Ms Doman's behaviour had a 'seriously damaging' impact on Pupil A, his parents, the school and its wider community, and that her conduct 'had the potential to influence Pupil A in a harmful way'. Ms Doman was facing 'difficulties' in her personal life at the time, the hearing was told, but the panel ruled that she 'did not show sufficient insight in respect of the impact her conduct had on others'. In a written conclusion published on Wednesday, Marc Cavey, on behalf of the Secretary of State, decided Ms Doman should be banned from teaching indefinitely, subject to a five-year review period.