Tom Field, who taught at Ursuline College in Westgate-on-Sea for nearly two decades, admitted to sleeping with a schoolgirl the day after her final exam
A former teacher who drove a group of teenagers to the pub has been struck off after having sex with a student.
Tom Field, who taught at Ursuline College in Westgate-on-Sea for nearly two decades, admitted to sleeping with a schoolgirl the day after her final exam.
A Teacher Regulation Agency panel heard how the 46-year-old dropped some of the pupils off before deliberately saving the teenager until last to tell her he would “like to have sex with her”.
He confessed: “Well before [she] got out of the car, I told [her] that I’d like to have sex with [her].” A day later, the teacher drove the teenager to his home.
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Once the pair were inside the premises, Mr Field took the pupil upstairs and had sex with her, a Teacher Regulation Agency panel heard. The student later told authorities: “I never said no, but I felt like it was wrong.”
A few days later, Mr Field arranged to meet the schoolgirl again, picking her up from near her house. He called in sick to work and took her to his home to watch a film, before engaging in sexual activity.
Towards the end of the month, the teen confided in a member of staff who then confronted Mr Field. He admitted he had “slept with” the student during a phone call and resigned from the school the next day.
The panel concluded his actions were “sexually motivated” and a clear abuse of his role as a teacher. “The panel found Mr Field seriously exploited his position of trust as a teacher by engaging in sexual misconduct, completely disregarded the teacher-pupil relationship, and demonstrated limited insight and a lack of genuine remorse,” it said. “These factors provided evidence to the panel of a potential risk of repetition.”
The panel discovered how Mr Field had taken pupils to a local pub without permission, risk assessments, or safeguarding measures in place. He confessed to remaining there for about an hour and a half, with the pupils enjoying “a few drinks and some food”, before he dropped three of them home. He then waited to tell the schoolgirl he wanted to have sex with her.
The panel said this demonstrated a “complete lack of professional boundaries” and a reckless disregard for his duty of care. Mr Field acknowledged he was “sorry, regretful and ashamed of his actions”.
However, authorities questioned this and said he even suggested the pupil “makes out that [he] was the chief and sole pursuer/orchestrator” in an attempt to deflect blame.
The panel said this proved he did not understand the seriousness of his actions.
Ursuline College Headteacher, Danielle Lancefield, said the school “acted immediately” by suspending Mr Field.
Speaking exclusively to The Mirror, she said: “The welfare of our pupils is our utmost priority, which is why we take matters of professional conduct extremely seriously. As soon as the school was made aware of the concerns, we acted immediately by suspending the individual and making the appropriate referrals. The individual has not been employed by the school since July 2023, and we have cooperated fully with the Teacher Regulation Agency throughout their investigation.
“Ofsted inspected the school in September 2023, noting that “safeguarding pupils is a priority” for the school. Ofsted said the school has “robust policies” in place and “makes sure it makes appropriate checks on adults who work in the school,” complying with “all statutory requirements around recruitment. ” We continue to maintain these standards.”