Teacher who had sex with former pupil banned

A teacher, found to have asked a former pupil to bring her school uniform to a hotel before having sex with her, has been banned from the profession for life.

Benjamin Hiscox, 34, was teaching at South Nottinghamshire Academy, in Radcliffe on Trent, Nottinghamshire, when an investigation was launched into a relationship he had with a girl whom he taught while training at a school in St Andrews, Fife.

A Teaching Regulation Agency (TRA) professional conduct panel heard he had started to talk to the girl on social media, before meeting up with her at a hotel in 2022.

David Oatley, who led the panel, said Mr Hiscox "fell significantly short of the standards expected of the profession".

According to the report, published on Friday, the girl had been a pupil at Madras College in St Andrews while Mr Hiscox was training to be a teacher.

About two years later, she followed him on Instagram in October 2022 and their conversation turned to a sexual nature quickly, the panel heard.

The maths teacher exchanged sexual images and videos with the girl before agreeing to meet her at a hotel on 28 October 2022.

Evidence heard by the panel said the pair had drunk alcohol and had sex on a number of occasions during the stay.

Prior to the visit, Mr Hiscox asked her to bring her school uniform and offered to pay for a sex toy.

The pair had agreed to meet again, however the girl's parents reported the relationship to Police Scotland after she told them she was seeing her former teacher.

Because Mr Hiscox was not her current teacher and due to the pupil's age, no criminal offences were brought by the force.

However, the TRA found he was guilty of "unacceptable professional conduct and/or conduct that may bring the profession into disrepute".

In his report, Mr Oatley confirmed the teacher had accepted six of the eight allegations against him.

He contested asking the girl to bring her uniform to the meeting, stating that it was her idea, however the panel found the allegation to be valid.

Mr Hiscox also argued he did not know her age or that she was a former pupil.

But the panel believed the girl, who said she told him early on in their conversations and he replied saying "well it makes it even naughtier then".

Concluding his report, the panel chair said it noted Mr Hiscox was "quick to move any online conversation into a sexual direction".

When deciding to ban Mr Hiscox from teaching again, Mr Oatley said: "The current risk to children posed by Mr Hiscox and the likely damage to confidence in the profession were restrictive regulatory action not taken in these circumstances were significant factors in forming that opinion."

The panel found the case had particular seriousness because the teacher had full sexual intercourse with a pupil.

Mr Oatley also said the panel decided to make the suspension permanent due to the seriousness of the misconduct.