Black Country music teacher who visited former student at university and got into bed with her is struck off
A former music teacher from the Black Country has been struck off after forming an "inappropriate" relationship with a former pupil.
Louis Stockton, aged 32 and from Stourbridge, has been barred from teaching after a misconduct panel found he had formed an "inappropriate" relationship with a former student of Cheltenham Ladies' College in Gloucestershire.
An investigation into Mr Stockton's actions was launched after allegations arose that he had failed to maintain professional boundaries with a pupil at Cheltenham Ladies' College, exchanged messages via Instagram and/or Snapchat, on one occasion went to a pub with the pupil, and on another stayed overnight with her in her bed.
A Teaching Regulation Authority (TRA) professional conduct panel heard that Mr Stockton had met the girl, referred to in the panel's report as Pupil A, while she was a sixth form pupil at the school, where he taught from September 2022 until October 2023.
The panel, which convened for a virtual hearing last month, heard how the contact began when Mr Stockton and five other teachers took a group of pupils and school leavers on a music trip, with Pupil A being one of those pupils.
During the trip, Mr Stockton and Pupil A were said to have become friendly and exchanged messages via Microsoft Teams.
Upon his return from the trip, Mr Stockton started an Instagram account and continued to message the pupil privately on both Instagram and Snapchat between July 15 and October 3, 2023.
The panel found that the communication "failed to maintain appropriate professional boundaries", adding that the school's safeguarding guidance warns teachers against forming social media friendships with pupils or recent school leavers.
The communication continued after Pupil A left the school.
