Teacher at top Catholic school groomed pupil with bath selfie
‘Sent naked images’
A SINGING teacher at a Roman Catholic boarding school had an affair with a pupil after giving her free lessons and sending her a picture of himself in the bath.
David Brown, 46, also encouraged the sixth-former to take drugs after telling her how much they would boost love-making.
The relationship was only discovered after the 18-year-old’s mother found messages on an iPhone and a laptop in which the pair discussed their sex sessions.
Brown, who worked at Worth School in West Sussex, was banned from the classroom for life after admitting unacceptable professional conduct and conduct that may bring the profession into disrepute.
The school, where fees for boarders reach £32,000 a year, is renowned for its music. A year ago its choir was the first to sing at a papal mass alongside the Sistine Chapel Choir. Pupils sang the liturgy celebrated by Pope Francis.
A professional conduct panel of the National College for Teaching and Leadership heard that Brown had sex with the girl, identified as Pupil A, on one or more occasions between June and December 2015 and sent messages that were of a sexual nature.
He also sent her messages encouraging her to take drugs, indicating he had taken them, and a picture message of himself in the bath.
Pupil A’s mother was shocked when she looked through her daughter’s iPhone, which Brown had given to her and which contained messages the girl exchanged with him.
She said in a statement: ‘The messages included open refer- ences to drug use and even offering to share them with Pupil A. Mr Brown referenced the “come down” and also the great effect drugs could have during sex.’
The mother said her daughter’s laptop also contained a large volume of messages exchanged between Brown and her daughter dating back to February 2015. She said: ‘Pupil A’s tone was one of trust – it seemed Mr Brown was praying on her vulnerabilities.
‘The messages quite quickly escalated into flirtatious chat and by the summer of 2015 Mr Brown had sent naked images of himself in his bath.’
The mother said the texts were ‘extremely explicit’ and quite often [Mr Brown] would text her to switch to WhatsApp as it was ‘safer’.
She added that it was clear a physical relationship had begun as there were ‘ explicit references in the messages to Pupil A and Mr Brown having had sex’.
Brown, who was selfemployed, had been contracted to work at the school as a singing teacher in September 2012. Pupil A left school in the summer of 2015 but was re-taking one of her A-levels in the autumn term.
The girl said she started having sex with Brown in July that year, which the teacher said was not while she was a pupil at the school.
But the panel, meeting in Coventry, considered that the relationship arose as a result of their contact at the school and therefore could be categorised as a pupil/teacher relationship. Panel chairman Michael Lewis said Brown had also provided the girl with free singing lessons and a paid part-time job, which could be seen as an attempt to foster a relationship.
He added: ‘The panel is satisfied that the conduct of Mr Brown, which involved sending inappropriate messages to a pupil which included encouraging her to take drugs and messages of a sexual nature, and engaging in sexual activity with the pupil, fell significantly short of the standards expected of the profession.’
Brown was prohibited from teaching indefinitely, which means he cannot teach in any school, sixth-form college, relevant youth accommodation or children’s home in England. He will also not be entitled to apply for restoration of his eligibility to teach.