Twelve North East teachers have been banned from the profession in the last year after misconduct hearings.

Among them are a paedophile, drink-driver and teachers who had inappropriate and over-familiar relationships with students.

All 12 of them have appeared before misconduct panels in 2023, and banned from re-entering a classroom.

Some will never be able to teach again due to the seriousness of their actions.

Here are all of the teachers banned from the classroom in the North East in the last year.

1. Simon Gray

Darlington teacher Simon Gray, 44, was ‘over-familiar’ with students, bought pupils gifts, took one student running early in the morning, and sent the an ‘inappropriate’ and ‘excessive’ number of emails to schoolchildren.

Gray was a Geography teacher at Hurworth School at the time until he quit in July 2022. In numerous emails, he reminded students not to say anything about their messages and conversations.

He was banned from the classroom after a hearing on November 23. He will be able to apply for the ban to be revoked after two years.

Read the full story HERE

2. Owen Lowrie

County Durham primary school teacher Owen Lowrie, 40, had sexual conversations about young girls aged between six and nine on social media and sent an image of one pupil’s used underwear.

Appearing before a misconduct panel earlier in November he accepted a string of allegations against him including that his conduct was sexually motivated. Police investigated the matter but took no further action.

The teacher allowed pupils to sit on his knee and stroked one student’s hair while they sat on his knee.

His ban from the classroom will be lifelong due to the “seriousness of the findings” and “lack of either insight or remorse”, the panel said.

Read the full story HERE

3. Rebecca-Frances Hansell

Northumberland teacher Rebecca-Francess Hansell lied to her headteacher claiming she was ill when she was actually in court being convicted of drink driving.

She was only found out when reports of the court case appeared in the press with a picture of her leaving court in Newcastle.

Hansell, 34, who taught at Seghill First School, had been drinking in her car after leaving work when she was spotted swerving in the road and narrowly missed a lorry. On the day she was in court, July 6, she told her school she had been “been up all night with diarrhoea”, adding she had been genuinely ill.

She was banned from the classroom for at least five years when she will be able to apply to teach again.

4. Lloyd Harrison

Harrison told a student she ticked all of his boxes and had “changed [his] life dramatically for the better”.

His relationship with her when teaching Design and Technology (DT) at a North Tyneside school between September 2012 and August 2016 was deemed 'inappropriate' by a misconduct panel which he failed to attend.

The 35-year-old bought the student a book and left a note inside with a list of attributes he looked for in a partner, telling her, “You tick every box”.

Banning him from teaching the panel said is actions fell “significantly short”.

Read the full story HERE

5. Dean Davidson

A paedophile teacher jailed for a string of sex offences failed to show up for a hearing where he was officially banned from the classroom for life.

Davidson, who taught at schools across the North East, admitted 18 sexual offences over a spell of ten years back in 2021. His crimes included possession of indecent images of children, online exploitation of young teenagers and indecently touching boys.

One of his victims said he “posed as a good-looking blonde girl”, and in other cases he used a male alter-ego, depending on the sexuality of his young victims, Newcastle Crown Court was told in 2021.

He will never teach again.

Read the full story HERE

6. Terence Wall

Terence Wall used a homophobic slur towards a student before claiming it was a joke.

The 68-year-old failed to appear before a misconduct panel to defend himself in May.

It heard how Wall said “don’t be a f****t”, or words to that effect, to a pupil at the Hambleton and Richmondshire Pupil Referral Service between February and March 2019. Notes from when he asked about the incident detail how Wall said he meant it was a joke and was not aware of the word’s connotations.

He was banned from teaching for a minimum of two years.

Read the full story HERE

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7. Ezar Khan

‘Man-bun wearing’ teacher Khan kissed a pupil on the cheek, bought her cigarettes and met her in his car outside school time.

A witness who saw the kiss outside the school building reportedly exclaimed: “I can’t believe what I’ve just seen”.

The 48-year-old was teaching at a Tyne and Wear school in 2018 when he acted unprofessionally and in a sexual nature towards the vulnerable girl who was under 16 at the time.

He will never be allowed back into the classroom.

Read the full story HERE

8. Adam Akram

Middlesbrough maths teacher Adam Akram struck up a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old ex-pupil.

Akram, 31, taught at The King’s Academy in Coulby Newham and struck up the “affair” months after she left the school.

The panel said: “He had been in a position of trust, and retained a position of power and influence in relation to her.”

He was banned from teaching indefinitely.

9. Richard Swinnerton

Thirty-four-year-old Swinnerton previously worked at St Clare’s Primary School in Middlesbrough but was banned from teaching on February 28.

The former educator was convicted at Teesside Magistrates Court in September 2020 for possessing an indecent photograph of a child.

He was banned from ever teaching again.

10. Christopher Green

County Durham primary school teacher Green “inappropriately” held the wrist of two pupils during his time teaching at Seascape Primary School.

He was banned from the classroom and will be able to reapply to teach after two years.

11. David McCafferty

Forty-three-year-old McCafferty previously taught at Hill Top School in Gateshead and failed to attend a misconduct hearing held in February.

He was previously convicted in September 2019 of assaulting a pupil by beating him the previous year. The hearing found he was guilty of misconduct.

The panel handed him a minimum ban of five years.

12. Robert Johnson

Ex-private-school teacher Robert Johnson, 34, was banned from teaching in January after previously being convicted and narrowly avoided jail for five counts of making indecent photographs of children.

He previously taught at Dame Allens in Newcastle.

He was handed a suspended sentence of a year back in 2021 and, due to the seriousness of the charge, will never teach again.