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PE teacher who 'had sex with pupil' banned from teaching for life

His actions were ‘pre-meditated and sustained over a period of time’, panel rules

Eleanor Busby
Education Correspondent
Thursday 15 February 2018 16:29 GMT
Ryan Leverton was also found guilty of behaving ‘inappropriately’ with two other pupils
Ryan Leverton was also found guilty of behaving ‘inappropriately’ with two other pupils

A PE teacher accused of having sex with a pupil in his car, in several hotels and at her parents’ house has been banned from teaching for life.

Ryan Leverton formed an “inappropriate relationship” with a pupil when working at Bishop Fox’s School in Taunton, Somerset, a National College for Teaching and Leadership panel has found.

A new report says the 35-year-old “abused his position of trust” in 2010 when he took advantage of a pupil he had “counselled as a result of her personal issues”.

Mr Leverton regularly exchanged “flirtatious” text messages with the pupil after getting her phone number at the school prom, the panel heard. They were already friends on Facebook by this time.

The teacher then met the pupil one-to-one in the school PE office, pulled her towards him and kissed her, the report states, before inviting her to his home where they had sex.

The report adds that the pair had sexual intercourse in Mr Leverton’s car, in several hotels and at her parents’ home during the relationship.

The pupil was on study leave when it began – but the misconduct panel ruled that Mr Leverton had started the sexual relationship while she was still a pupil at the school.

The National College for Teaching and Leadership panel also found him guilty of acting “inappropriately” towards two other female students.

One pupil alleged that he had asked her and another girl who were lying on mats during a PE lesson whether they were waiting for him to “lie on top of them”.

He then repeated his rhetorical question before “winking and looking at them in a way which [the pupil] regarded as sexual in nature”, she said.

Mr Leverton denied all the allegations against him – but the misconduct panel ruled that they had been proven, adding that his actions were “pre-meditated and sustained over a period of time”.

Decision maker Alan Meyrick said Mr Leverton’s lack of insight and remorse “means that there is some risk of the repetition of this behaviour and this risks the future wellbeing of pupils”.

He ruled that Mr Leverton – who worked at the school between 2009 and 2014 – should be banned from teaching indefinitely. He will not be allowed to apply for his eligibility to teach to be restored.

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