16-year-old who had sex with his teacher on board flight did not want her to lose her job over it

The father of a teenage boy who had sex with his school teacher on a flight back home from a trip has said that his son did not want the teacher to lose her job because of their dalliance.

The 16-year-old's father, who cannot be named for legal reasons, said, his son "didn't want her to lose her job over it. The relationship was only uncovered when another pupil found out about it and blackmailed her for sex.

"He then told the school and from there it was the school who pursued the investigation, not my son. He didn't want her to lose her career. He's a young man who just wants to put this behind him and move on."

The comments from the pupil's father came after the physics teacher Eleanor Wilson was struck off from teaching after her actions came to light at a misconduct hearing.

The National College for Teaching and Leadership (NCTL) had heard that Wilson who had worked at a school in Bristol since 2013 and was head of Key Stage 4 – which covers pupils in years 10 and 11 studying for GCSEs – when she came close to the boy during a school trip.

During the return flight from the trip, the 28-year-old and the student began flirting after she drank five mini-bottles of wine. The duo then had sex, the teenager had testified in the hearing.

She was found guilty of unacceptable professional conduct by the panel and will not be able to apply to teach ever again.

The NCTL had said in a report of the panel's hearing: "The conduct of Wilson fell significantly short of the standards expected of the profession. The panel has found that the offences of serious dishonesty and sexual activity are relevant.

"The panel considered that this behaviour considerably eroded the boundary between Wilson and Pupil A, and to Pupil A's detriment."

Wilson had already been sacked from her job at the school in May 2016.