Teaching assistant banned after he told pupils he was a former military sniper and killed people

A Welsh rugby player and teaching assistant has been banned from the classroom after lying to pupils about having previously been a military sniper who has killed people.

Scott Trigg-Turner, who is also a prominent wheelchair rugby player for Wales, was working at Bassaleg School in Newport, Wales, in November 2023 when he made the false claims to students and colleagues.

These also included telling a Year 8 class that he had been in the US Marines, still owned a gun, and had the codename ‘kill switch’.

A professional standards panel found on Tuesday that Mr Trigg-Turner “told pupils and colleagues that he had been in the army and military, had been in the American marines, still had a gun from active service, had been a sniper, had killed people and had a nickname/code name ‘kill switch’”.

It added that Mr Trigg-Turner was “fully aware” that his comments, made to “vulnerable and impressionable” pupils, were both “incorrect and misleading”.

The panel also ruled that Mr Trigg-Turner, who is a wheelchair user, gave “inconsistent” explanations to his colleagues and managers about how he was injured and came to use a wheelchair, including that it happened to him when he was in the army or Marines.

The hearing was told Mr Trigg-Turner argued he had been “misinterpreted” and felt “targeted and singled out for whatever reason”.

He resigned in June 2024 following an internal investigation.

Mr Trigg-Turner has now been struck off the Education Workforce Council (EWC) register “indefinitely”, but in two years’ time he can apply to have his name restored.

The panel concluded: “A finding of unacceptable professional conduct is a serious matter. In the light of its findings, which included that Mr Trigg-Turner had been dishonest and lacked integrity as set out above, the Committee was satisfied that his unacceptable professional conduct was too serious and the circumstances did not justify closing the case without making an order, nor would it be in the public interest to do so given the failings identified.”

Mr Trigg-Turner can appeal the decision within 28 days.