Inside the horrifying surge in UK school sex scandals with teachers being banned in record numbers

TEACHERS are being kicked out of classrooms in record numbers amid a horrifying surge in sex scandals. A shocking 214 teachers were struck off in just 12 months, The Sun on Sunday can reveal — more than one for every single day schools were open. Teacher Rebecca Joynes was jailed for grooming a school student and was struck off Credit: Steve Allen More than 200 teachers have been kicked out of the profession over the past 12 month (stock image) Credit: Getty The rogue roll-call is the highest annual total ever recorded and means almost 18 teachers are now being banned every month. Among those booted out in 2025/26 were staff who had sex with pupils, stripped off for OnlyFans or were found to be drunk in class. Sign up for The Sun newsletter Thank you! Experts warn the trend is being fuelled by a younger generation brought up on social media entering the profession. They say it has eroded the boundaries between teachers and pupils, with staff exchanging messages and images in an over-friendly way. Former secondary school teacher Natasha Kostalas told how some of her old colleagues had tried “to befriend students”. The 36-year-old, from Essex, said: “I used to see teachers fist-bump students and even though it appears friendly, it sets a strange dynamic. Students are not teachers’ friends, and I do believe professionalism is integral to the job.” And English teacher Jane ­Denning, 60, blamed social media for the ­disturbing trend. Most read in The Sun Jane, from Kent, said: “The eroding of proper discipline in schools has almost certainly meant more people entering the profession who are not as moral as they should be. “Social media has also changed everything. It has created more opportunities for boundaries to be crossed — but it has also made it easier for bad apples to be exposed.” Teacher Lianne Barclay sexted an underage girl and was struck off for life from the profession Credit: Ben Lack Former music teacher Louis Davies, 39, was banned after a school volunteer performed a sex act on him in a classroom Credit: In many of the cases seen over the past 12 months, teachers were found to be using late-night digital messaging and social media to interact with pupils. Georgia Lowe, 28, began working as a trainee teacher in Hednesford, Staffs, where she befriended a 15-year-old pupil and sent him pictures of herself in underwear after exchanging late-night emails. Lowe was struck off after the “inappropriate” messages were found by the boy’s mother. Meanwhile, biology teacher Thomas Munro, 29, contacted three students while working a girls’ school in Kent. He asked one pupil about her “kinks” while he was supposed to be helping with her CV. And teacher Rebecca Joynes, 32, groomed one student, 15, and even went on to have a baby with a 16-year-old pupil in Manchester. She was jailed for six-and-a-half years. Food tech teacher Lianne Barclay, 43, bombarded a girl in Warrington with messages such as, “You’re mine” and “Can’t wait for a cuddle”. While Lyndi Corston, 61, a supply teacher in East Sussex, was stripped of her credentials after appearing naked on OnlyFans and in adult videos as “granny schoolteacher”. And Louis Davies, 39, was banned from teaching after a school volunteer performed a sex act on him in a Dorset classroom as pupils made their way along the corridor. Lyndi Corston, 61, a supply teacher in East Sussex, was stripped of her credentials after appearing naked on OnlyFans Credit: Facebook Total teachers banned The Teaching Regulation Agency (TRA) figures showing teachers banned per year in England . . . 2025–26: 214 2024–25: 191 2023–24: 157 2022–23: 137 2021–22: 108 2020–21: 39 2019–20: 63 2018–19: 91 2017–18: 91 2016–17: 119 2015–16: 98 Total: 1,308 In its latest report, the Teaching Regulation Agency (TRA) revealed sexual misconduct and breaches of professional boundaries were the most common reasons for prohibition orders to be issued. And the latest record high of 214 builds on a stark upward trend. There were 191 teachers struck off in the 12 months to April 2025 — up from 157 in 2023-24, 137 in 2022/23 and 108 in 2021/22. The TRA’s annual report also reveals that the watchdog has been overwhelmed with complaints. In the two years from April 2024, it received 3,276 accusations of misconduct and launched 1,631 ­investigations as a result. Schools inspector Claire Platt said: “A school’s first duty is to safeguard children and young people. This rise in teacher prohibition orders is not something we should accept, and school leaders must remain vigilant. “Safeguarding can never just become a box-ticking exercise as one dangerous person slipping through the net has the potential to cause untold damage.” There are also fears that a recruitment crisis is leading to unsuitable candidates filling roles. Despite repeated ministerial promises to tackle the issue, many schools remain desperately short-staffed. Earlier this year, 71 per cent of secondary leaders and 49 per cent of primary leaders said that recruiting new staff was difficult. And a poll of organisations responsible for training new ­teachers found that 90 per cent of providers were concerned about the quality of applicants. Emma Hollis, chief executive of the National Association of School-Based Teacher Trainers, warned: “Pressuring trainers into accepting unsuitable applicants risks swapping a crisis of quantity for a crisis of quality.” Many teachers are also battling punishing workloads and emotional stress, with just 26 per cent ­reporting that their workload was acceptable in 2024/25. Former English teacher Emma Moores, 50, said: “Most people go into teaching because they genuinely want to help children and make a difference. “But the job has changed beyond recognition. Teachers are now expected to be educators, social workers, counsellors and psychologists, while ­delivering a syllabus that many feel is no longer fit for purpose. It is becoming a far less ­attractive profession — and that risks driving good people away.” As well as sexual misconduct, teachers were also struck off for drug and alcohol abuse. One maths teacher in Cornwall, Rowan Barnicoat, 29, was blacklisted after being caught snorting cocaine with a £5 note at a staff Christmas party. He later boasted to a colleague: “I am never skint. I always have cash from dealing.” Meanwhile, primary school teacher Lesley Beuscher, 61, was so unsteady on her feet that colleagues in Hertfordshire feared she had suffered a stroke, until they smelled alcohol on her breath. Ria Culley, a former teaching assistant who has campaigned for better safeguarding in schools, said: “Teachers are people trusted to educate, protect and set an example to our children. “We cannot dismiss rising misconduct as a few isolated cases. “We need to review safeguarding in schools — and across education — to make sure that the system is keeping children safe.” Responding to the figures, the TRA said: “The primary purposes of a prohibition order are to protect pupils, maintain public confidence in the teaching profession and ­support schools in upholding proper standards of conduct. “The regulations do not cover cases of less serious misconduct, incompetence or underperformance. “A teacher’s employer should deal with th­­ese cases.”