A south London teacher has been banned for life after telling a teenage pupil that she was “one horny girl” and that she had a “nice arse”.
Amrinder Singh Pannu, 38, had taught at St Marks Church of England Academy in Mitcham since 2015, and was recorded making sexually inappropriate conversations with the girl in 2018.
The teenager, referred to as Pupil A, described the relationship with Mr Pannu as mutually flirtatious, with one conversation discussing the prospect of them having sex once she turned 18.
In one conversation, which was recorded during a free period, he can be heard saying “so you could do me around the corner” and “you’re not teasing me, I know you want it”.
Mr Pannu was also recorded saying “if you were in a different school then it would have been a different story”.
Pupil A said that she had taken the recordings after confiding in a friend, who did not believe her.
On 11 September 2018, three members of staff at the school received an anonymous whistleblowing email with the voice recordings and recognised that the conversation was sexually explicit.
Mr Pannu, who was head of the science department, was subsequently suspended while the school launched an investigation.
The Teaching Regulation Agency heard that Pupil A and Mr Pannu had initially begun talking about topics such as travelling and university, and that Mr Pannu told her she could not tell anyone “because his life would be ruined”.
He denied any inappropriate relationship or that any sexual acts had taken place, but accepted that the recorded conversations were handled badly and that he did not follow correct protocols.
The panel also heard that Mr Pannu had become involved in issues surrounding Pupil A in early 2015 during his time as pastoral lead.
While he had apologised for the comments, the panel said he had “demonstrated the beginnings of remorse but not meaningful remorse”.
His lawyer said that while Mr Pannu “does not want to blame” Pupil A, he also “can only imagine that she has chose to target him for these allegations”, and had initiated the sexual conversations to “create a fictitious relationship”.
However, the panel found: “The panel reminded itself that it had found that the detail of the conversation between Mr Pannu and Pupil A was obviously sexual and flirtatious and that Mr Pannu had agreed with the child to have sex with her after she had turned 18.
“The panel could see no way in which this behaviour could ever be viewed as anything other than extremely serious and harmful behaviour by a teacher towards a child.”
In its written decision, the TRA panel continued: “Mr Pannu’s comments went far beyond any acceptable boundaries between teacher and pupil. His actions were not accidental or isolated, they were deliberate and deeply inappropriate.”
He is now permanently banned from teaching, after the panel recommended a prohibition order with no opportunity for review.
