Bristol teacher struck off after having sex on a plane with pupil

A Bristol physics teacher has been banned from the profession after having sex with a pupil in a plane toilet.

Eleanor Wilson, 28, kissed, flirted and drank alcohol with the male student on the flight back from a school trip, before continuing the relationship with texts and meet-ups out of hours.

The head of Key Stage Four at a Bristol secondary school went on to cover up her liaisons with the student, who has not been identified, encouraged him to do the same and lied when interviewed by the head teacher about the allegations.

The truth only came to light when another pupil (referred to as pupil C) sent a series of emails, threatening to blackmail her and tell the school about the inappropriate relationship unless she engaged in sexual intercourse with him. These emails were reported to the school and police.

A National College for Teaching and Leadership (NCTL) panel found Wilson guilty of unacceptable professional conduct and banned her from teaching indefinitely.

It was on a school trip in the summer of 2015 that Wilson and the pupil (referred to as pupil A) first became close.

The panel heard evidence from pupil A that the teacher was intoxicated and that he himself drank around five miniature bottles of wine on the flight.

He went on to describe how he and Wilson entered the toilet, kissed and had oral sex and intercourse without using protection.

In the following months, the panel heard that Wilson met pupil A one-on-one in her office and sometimes took him on outings, where they would hug, kiss and, on one occasion, drank cider together.

In September 2015, allegations of the affair came to light and the head teacher launched an investigation, but Wilson denied this allegation in its entirety and no further action was taken due to a lack of corroborating evidence.

She later confirmed in a letter dated May 2016 that she knew that contacting Pupil A in the way that she did was inappropriate and stated that “as the teacher in this situation it was my responsibility to be truthful and I wasn’t 100 per cent in my interview with [the school]”.

The report concluded: “In light of the panel’s findings against Wilson, which involved an inappropriate sexual relationship with a pupil and dishonesty in covering up the relationship, there is a strong public interest consideration in respect of the protection of pupils given the seriousness of the findings.”

She was found to fall significantly short of the standards expected of the profession.

Wilson was sacked by the school last year and was not present at the NCTL hearing.

The panel heard that she did have a previously good history and was highly regarded as a teacher. The head teacher had also received unprompted emails and calls from parents of pupils praising her.

Making the announcement on behalf of the Secretary of State, Alan Meyrick said: “Wilson is prohibited from teaching indefinitely and cannot teach in any school, sixth form college, relevant youth accommodation or children’s home in England.”

She will not be allowed to re-apply to teach again.