Educating Yorkshire's Neil Giffin banned from teaching for having sex with former pupils

A teacher from the award-winning series Education Yorkshire has been banned from the profession after having sex with two former pupils.

Neil Giffin, who featured in the Channel 4 programme set at Thornhill Community Academy, near Dewsbury, admitted to having a relationship with two former pupils at a separate school in Cheshire.

The National College for Teaching and Leadership has now banned Giffin from teaching indefinitely for having sex with two former pupils at Bishop Heber High School in Malpas, both aged over 18 at the time, between 2007 and 2008.

Giffin taught at the Cheshire school between 2003 and 2012 before leaving to become head of humanities at Thornhill.

He was also found to have communicated inappropriately with other ex-pupils over Facebook, including telling one 17-year-old she "looked sexy" in tights and asking her what she thought of cross-dressing.

Giffin said he used false names to contact the former pupils because he "didn't want them to know who was looking at them".

A report from the panel said: "In mitigation, Mr Giffin stated that he used the fake Facebook accounts to provide a form of escapism from the stress and pressures of his life at the time, including various personal and financial problems.

"The panel did not consider that these factors excused his behaviour."

Decision-maker Paul Heathcote said: "Mr Giffin's actions have been found to be sexually motivated. There is a repeated pattern of behaviour and there was clear potential for a vulnerable pupil to be harmed.

"Whilst he has shown regret, there is little evidence of insight into the impact his actions might have had on pupils."