Teacher sacked for running secret wrestling sessions with students

Parents believed Adam Zia was providing extra maths tuition

The sessions took place at Tokkyo Youth Centre (Google Maps)

A teacher has been sacked for running secret wrestling sessions with students.

Parents believed that Adam Zia, a maths teacher, was providing extra tuition for his pupils on the weekend, when in fact students were “settling conflict” by wrestling each other.

The 38-year-old did not inform Icknield High School in Luton that the classes were taking place or that he was messaging students with Whatsapp to organise the sessions which took place in 2015.

Mr Zia and a second adult, named only as Individual A, were not trained to instruct wrestling, the National College of Teaching and Leadership (NCTL) panel heard. They also did not have the necessary insurance.

The sessions also took place away from school premises at Tokko Youth Centre. It was only when a pupil told a safeguarding officer that staff became aware of what was really happening.

“Mr Zia admits that the tuition sessions included wrestling and that pupils were given instruction in wrestling and allowed to wrestle one another,” said Martin Greenslade, the chair of the panel at Mr Zia's disciplinary hearing. “Mr Zia admits that Individual A attended the tuition sessions and gave pupil practical instruction in wrestling.

“This included close physical contact between Individual A and pupils such as sitting on top of Individual A."

Mr Zia was suspended on 20 November 2015 and resigned on 31 March 2016 before any disciplinary proceedings took place.

But The National College for Teaching and Leadership found Mr Zia guilty of a series of misconduct charges.

He admitted all the accusations and was also found guilty of separate misconduct charges after he was late to work 13 times between December 2014 and September 2015.

As a result he has been barred from teaching in England indefinitely but will have the opportunity to overturn his prohibition order in 2019.