A FORMER Thomas Adams School teacher has banned from teaching for life after allegations of a sexual relationship with a 14-year-old pupil while working at another school.

Spencer Radford, 49, appeared in front of a Fitness to Practice panel between March 18 and 24 over allegations that he was guilty of unacceptable professional conduct while working at a school in Cheshire between 1999 and 2001.

Among the allegations were claims that Radford – then 28 – had shared his personal mobile number with a 14-year-old pupil, Pupil A, said he was in love with them, gave them lifts and kissed and engaged in sexual activity with them.

Radford admitted texting the pupil, giving them lifts and staying at their house but did not admit that this amounted to unacceptable professional conduct.

He also did not accept that these facts constituted a failure to maintain appropriate professional boundaries.

He entirely denied saying he was in love with the pupil and that they had engaged in sexual activity.

Radford joined Thomas Adams in 2006 and remained there until he resigned in the 2018-19 school year – save for one year where he held an appointment at another college.

It was in August 2018 that Cheshire Police launched an investigation after a report from a former pupil at the Cheshire school – known as Pupil B, made a report, but no further police action was taken.

But Thomas Adams School held a disciplinary investigation.

Pupil A told the Fitness to Practice panel, chaired by Chris Rushton, alongside Laura Flynn and David Raff, that the relationship developed over a long time.

"The only thing not normal was the teacher and pupil part and the age gap, everything else was normal everything progressed really slowly – I was young it was all firsts it probably took a long time."

Pupil A's written evidence was that the relationship naturally progressed to kissing and engaging in foreplay.

She told the panel that they went as far as oral sex, but that the relationship fizzled out before she turned 16 after she met someone else.

She said that she stayed in touch with Radford with occasional text messages and phone calls every now and again until "eventually that got less and less and that was that really".

The panel accepted the "compelling" account of Pupil A, supported by contemporaneous hearsay of other pupils, and found all the allegations to be proven, and that Radford had been unprofessional and had brought his profession into disrepute.

In his report, Mr Rushton said he had treated the case with careful consideration.

"In considering this case, I have also given very careful attention to the advice that the Secretary of State has published concerning the prohibition of teachers," he wrote.

"In this case, the panel has found all of the allegations proven and found that those proven facts amount to unacceptable professional conduct and/or conduct that may bring the profession into disrepute."

The findings of the panel meant that Radford was prohibited from ever teaching again.

"Furthermore, in view of the seriousness of the allegations found proved against him, I have decided that Mr Radford shall not be entitled to apply for restoration of his eligibility to teach," Mr Rushton added.