A PE teacher has been banned from the profession after having sex with a pupil “in a field or park” after a “drunken night out.”
Jake Green worked at Nicholas Breakspear Catholic School in Hertfordshire between September 2016 and August 2019 before moving in September 2019.
While working at the college, his employer received an anonymous email on 20 May 2022, claiming that Mr Green should not be working there as he had a sexual encounter with a pupil from Nicholas Breakspear’s while teaching at the school, a Teaching Regulation Agency (TRA) panel heard.
On 23 May 2022, the college met with Mr Green, who admitted he had had a sexual encounter with the female student, known as Pupil A, but was “adamant” she was over 18 and a former student at the time.
The panel heard Mr Green, 33, said the sexual activity with Pupil A occurred after he “unintentionally met her at an over 18s nightclub” whilst on a “drunken night out” with an old friend, but that he did not accept she was a student at the school at the time as he was unsure if this was the case.
In an undated statement to the college, which was quoted in a written ruling from the TRA, Mr Green said: “All I remember is being in my old friend’s car outside (a) nightclub.”
“I remember feeling very intoxicated in the passenger seat of his car whilst he was chatting to two girls through the window, and I think he offered them a lift home.
“All I remember from then is us suddenly being in a small field or park with my friend and the two girls and somehow four of us engaged in a sexual encounter,” he continued.
“At the time of all of this, I did not register who either of the two girls was, only that I had a slight recognition of one of the girls.”
“In my drunken state, it did not occur to me who she may have been,” he added.
Mr Green continued: “When I woke up the following morning, I was reflecting on the night before and it dawned on me why I may have recognised one of the girls.
“I assumed she may have been an ex-sixth-form student at Nicholas Breakspear School, which is where I taught at the time.
“I say this because I have no recollection of seeing her at school in my teaching role, I had never spoken to her or taught her but in the cold light of day, it dawned on me, that was how I recognised her.”
He said he did not notify the school as he had “no reason to believe she was a current student” and that he had “reasonable belief” Pupil A was over 18, having met her outside a nightclub.
In the statement, Mr Green wrote that he had received a Facebook message from Pupil A “many months” after the incident and he had told her he was in a relationship and was “frightened” he would “lose everything” if people found out about their sexual encounter.
The panel heard that in a police crime report dated July 25 2022, Pupil A had informed an officer she had had sex with Mr Green while she was at the school.
The report ruled that it was “more likely than not that Mr Green had sex with Pupil A when she was a pupil at the school”.
It accepted that Mr Green “may not have realised” she was a student where he worked but that he “did have some recognition” of her.
The panel noted that Pupil A did not wish to press charges against Mr Green but found him guilty of unacceptable professional conduct.
In a written conclusion, published on Thursday, decision maker Sarah Buxcey, acting on behalf of the Education Secretary, banned Mr Green from teaching indefinitely, subject to a five-year review period.
She wrote that she had placed “considerable weight” on the panel’s finding that “Mr Green, whilst intoxicated, made a deliberate decision to engage in sexual intercourse with Pupil A” but that there was “no solid evidence” to demonstrate he was aware she was a pupil at the school where he worked.
In a written statement to the TRA, Mr Green said: “I am not the person I was in my early 20s.
“I have learnt so much from my previous mistakes and the hurt that I have caused.
“It was a shameful and embarrassing mistake that I hid from my friends, family and partner.
“As a result, I have focused on being the best person I can be in my career and in my relationship with my partner, friends and family.”
He added: “I completely regret my past behaviour and I am immensely sorry.”
Mr Green stopped working at St Columba’s College on May 11 2023.
