A senior staff member at a private school in Portsmouth has been barred from teaching following a disciplinary hearing into his conduct toward a female student. Stuart Smith, 48, who served as head of Year 11 and career coordinator at Mayville High School, was found to have sent a series of inappropriate messages to the pupil, referred to only as Pupil A, after a school trip in 2023.

Smith, a physical education teacher and sports coach with more than 25 years of experience, joined Mayville in 2020. He was promoted to head of house in 2021 and later took on responsibility for Year 11 students before becoming career coordinator in 2023. The school, which charges annual fees nearing £18,000, said Smith resigned following the allegations but would have been dismissed if he had not done so.

The concerns came to light after an incident during the return flight from a school trip, where Smith reportedly invited the girl to rest her legs over him and then rubbed them, causing the student to become upset. The teacher is also said to have kept photographs of the pupil and given her a bracelet. Although police arrested Smith on suspicion of possible sexual assault, no charges were brought and the case was subsequently dropped.

At the hearing before the teacher regulation agency, the panel heard that Smith had developed an increasingly close relationship with Pupil A over the course of the trip. After the flight incident, he sent several WhatsApp messages described by the panel as “highly inappropriate and unprofessional.” The messages contained affectionate and over-familiar language, including references to the student as his “Premier League,” “Mona Lisa friend,” and “little kid hugger.” In one message, he stated he had “loads of photos” of her on his phone, claiming there were “no bad ones” as she looked “great” in all of them. Another message expressed emotional dependence, saying he had “really missed not seeing you today” and used an emoji indicating sadness.

Christine McLintock, chairwoman of the disciplinary panel, noted that Smith admitted his messages were at times “too friendly and over-familiar,” attributing this to the long hours he spent with the pupil. However, the panel concluded that the communications were personal and demonstrated an emotional attachment that was inappropriate given the teacher-student relationship. The panel emphasized that Smith had prioritized his own needs over those of the pupil, particularly during a period when she had limited contact with her parents and was under the school’s care.

As a result, Stuart Smith has been prohibited from teaching, with the panel underscoring the seriousness of his conduct and the breach of professional boundaries in his dealings with the student.