A former sixth form teacher accused of sending 'inappropriate' emails to students has admitted acting 'irresponsibly'.

David Brereton is appearing before a professional conduct hearing in relation to his contact with two pupils at Stoke-on-Trent Sixth Form College, where he worked up to his dismissal in 2022.

The Teaching Regulation Agency (TRA) claims that Brereton's emails from 2021 and 2022 were of an 'inappropriately familiar nature', covering topics such as drinking alcohol and going out at night.

He also called one pupil on his personal mobile and shared his social media details with her.

Brereton, who missed the first day of the virtual hearing on Wednesday, attended the second day and the panel decided it would be in everyone's best interest to re-start proceedings.

Representing himself, Brereton told the panel that he generally accepted the facts of the allegations, agreeing that he sent the emails in question and that this amounted to misconduct.

He said that his email contact with one student, Pupil A, was initially in relation to helping her with coursework, and that he 'very much regrets' that the conversation moved beyond education matters.

Brereton said: "I'm happy to accept I had acted irresponsibly. The emails, I accept, were unprofessional. I let myself down. Having been teaching for 17 years I should have done better. I did think I managed to do something about it

" The last real email conversation I had with Pupil A was at the start of the February half-term. I let the college know that on the day we returned, the conversation I had with the student was that she wasn't to email me any more for any advice."

Brereton said he 'queried' an allegation that he gave the student a nickname – an abbreviated form of her surname – claiming that this was normal behaviour in the sports department in which he worked.

He added: "Throughout my career at the sixth form college I never had any complaints from students or staff regarding the way I used to teach or how I was with students."

In relation to the allegation that he called Pupil A using his personal mobile, he claimed that he had been busy teaching a particularly 'challenging' group of students at the time and had simply forgotten to withhold his number.

And he said he had a 'genuine' reason to call her, which related to a college open evening.

But when asked why he went on to suggest she store his phone number, he told the hearing he could not remember why he did this. And he accepted that he should not have shared his social media details with the student.

Brereton was dismissed by the college in September 2022 following disciplinary proceedings after the emails came to light.

The hearing continues.