A sixth form teacher was sacked after exchanging 'inappropriate' emails with students.

David Brereton was dismissed from Stoke-on-Trent Sixth Form College in 2022 after it came to light that he had been regularly emailing students about non-education related matters, such as drinking alcohol and going out at night.

His behaviour in relation to two students is now the subject of a professional conduct hearing.

The Teaching Regulation Agency (TRA) says Brereton's contact with his pupils was of an 'inappropriately familiar nature', and that the emails 'blur and then cross boundaries'.

According to the TRA, Brereton failed to maintain 'appropriate professional boundaries' with the pupils, and that this amounted to unprofessional conduct or conduct that could bring the profession into disrepute.

Brereton worked at the college for 17 years up to his dismissal in September 2022 following disciplinary proceedings. He did not attend the virtual misconduct hearing and he was not represented, but the panel decided to proceed in his absence.

Alexander Barnfield, who presented the case for the TRA, told the hearing that Brereton had exchanged around 475 emails with 'Pupil A' between December 2021 and June 2022, including late at night, at weekends, and during school holidays.

The emails covered topics such as alcohol and going out at night. In one he said he was 'already missing you'; in another he told the student not to tell anyone he had shared his personal contact details, saying he would 'probably get the sack' if she did.

Email exchanges with a second student, 'Pupil B', in March and April 2022 also form part of the TRA case. Neither student was named during the hearing.

Mr Barnfield said: "This is about David Brereton's lack of respect for boundaries and inappropriate dealings with students at the college he worked at. The emails are of a personal and overly friendly nature.

"They refer to the exchange of personal contact details, social media, and topics that, the TRA say, are not appropriate for teacher-pupil correspondence.

"The TRA also say they are inappropriate in their tone, in their volume, and the timing of them is often late at night, at the weekend, or outside of term-time."

Mr Barnfield suggested that the email exchanges were 'much more akin to a text conversation between teenage friends rather than that between a teacher and a pupil'.

Claire Gaygan, who was assistant principal and safeguarding lead at the college at the time, told the hearing Brereton received regular training on appropriate conduct, including a three-hour training session for all staff at the start of each year.

Ms Gaygan, who is now chief operating officer for the trust that runs the college, said: "We are not their friends – we are there to support them. It can be a difficult transition from high school to college. As the professionals, the grown-ups in the room, we should maintain those boundaries."

Ms Gaygan told the hearing that as well as carrying out its own investigation, the college had informed Staffordshire Police about Brereton's contact with one pupil, who was under the age of 18. But after speaking with the pupil and her family, officers took no further action.

The hearing continues.