Private faculty trainer’s creepy messages to pupil who he advised was ‘Premier League’
PE teacher Stuart Smith was banned from teaching indefinitely after a disciplinary panel found he had been ‘overfamiliar’ and developed an ’emotional personal relationship’ with a pupil
He sent her messages on Whatsapp(Image: PA)
A PE teacher who referred to a female student as “Premier League” and one of his “favourite people on the planet” has been struck off. Stuart Smith has been indefinitely barred from teaching following a disciplinary hearing that concluded he had been “overfamiliar” and fostered an “emotional personal relationship” with a pupil.
The 48-year-old was employed at Mayville High School in Portsmouth, Hampshire, where he also held the positions of assistant head of Year 11 and head of house. A misconduct panel heard that Mr Smith had grown “increasingly close” to a student during a school trip and had engaged in frequent one-on-one chats with her.
It was reported that, after their return from the trip, he exchanged numerous WhatsApp messages with her.
In one message, viewed by the Teaching Regulation Agency’s professional conduct panel, Mr Smith told the girl: “So, today I’ve seen a lot of my favourite people and done some fun things but I would have swapped it all for a cup of milo, a game of spoons and just being silly with you.”
In another, he informed the student she was “Premier League and one of my favourite people on the planet”.
Mr Smith also expressed to the girl that he was “really proud” of her before dubbing her the best “hoody stealer”, “bracelet addict”, and “Mona Lisa friend”, among other monikers.
In his testimony to the panel, the PE teacher admitted that his messages were occasionally “too friendly and over familiar, but he thought it was due to spending 16/17 hours a day with someone”.
In his written statement, Mr Smith acknowledged that he had reviewed the messages and agreed they were unprofessional and “blurred the lines between what is acceptable and not”.
The girl, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, also informed the misconduct hearing that on the return journey from the school trip, she told Mr Smith she was going to sleep and he suggested she could rest her legs on him.
It was reported that the teacher then “rubbed” and “touched” the student’s thigh with his hands, an accusation which Mr Smith “categorically” refuted but the panel deemed proven.
The panel also determined that Mr Smith had photographs of the pupil, had purchased her a fabric bracelet, and had exchanged personal mobile phone numbers with one or more students.
In October 2023, Mr Smith was arrested by the police on suspicion of sexual assault and suspended from the school.
However, in December of that year, the police investigation was concluded with no further action taken.
That same month, the teacher resigned from the school, which charges approximately £18,000 per annum for senior pupils from year seven to year 11.
The panel concluded that the teacher’s behaviour “involved serious and repeated failures to maintain proper professional boundaries with a pupil and a failure to act in accordance with safeguarding expectations, requirements and responsibilities”.
The report further stated: “The panel considered that these matters seriously undermined the standards expected of a teacher and he sought to exploit his position of trust.”
Some of the other accusations levelled against the teacher were deemed unproven.
Mr Smith has now been indefinitely barred from teaching.
He can request for the prohibition order to be lifted but not until 2029, and he has a right of appeal at the High Court.
