Teacher who kissed pupil on camping trip banned

A teacher who kissed a student on an unauthorised camping trip has been banned from the profession.

Physics teacher Simon Mumford was taken to a disciplinary panel accused of behaving inappropriately with the the girl, referred to as Pupil A.

The misconduct hearing was told the 55-year-old organised an overnight trip to Priests Hole Cave in the Lake District in June 2021, where he was said to have touched the pupil's leg, kissed her cheek, put his arm around her and told her he loved her.

The physics teacher at Clitheroe Royal Grammar School in Lancashire was suspended in 2023 after the girl informed the school about his behaviour.

In a written statement, she said it was during a period of lockdown in the coronavirus pandemic when Mr Mumford gave her the “idea” that she should go on a camping trip with her family, before suggesting he could take her by himself.

He said he wanted to show her "the views and what it is like to experience sleeping under the stars”, she said.

Pupil A said her parents gave her permission to go on the trip but only on the condition another person, referred to as Individual A, also went.

The panel found "under no circumstances, should Mr Mumford have arranged a personal camping trip outside of the school setting" and in doing so he "encouraged a relationship which went beyond a professional teacher and pupil relationship".

It heard the pair also messaged each other online out of school hours, when Mr Mumford had "encouraged an inappropriately personal discussion".

In her spoken evidence, Pupil A said Mr Mumford had kissed her cheek twice on the camping trip, one after the other in a “fatherly” manner, rather than romantically, but the panel said such behaviour was "inappropriate in all circumstances".

Mr Mumford said he had made a “huge error of judgement” but did not do so because of any sexual motivation.

He said it was a “wholly misguided” attempt to support a pupil.

The ban means that Mr Mumford is prohibited from teaching indefinitely and cannot teach in any school, sixth form college, relevant youth accommodation or children’s home in England.

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