A Hereford school teacher jailed for a sexual affair with a pupil has now been banned from the country's classrooms for life.

Colin Wilkes, 58, was jailed for 20 months at Worcester Crown Court in September 2020 after pleaded guilty to sexual activity with a girl aged between 13 and 17.

However, when the case came before the Teaching Regulation Agency (TRA) recently he also admitted a second sexual affair with another girl at Hereford Cathedral School where he taught from 1988 to 2019. The other affair had taken place in the 1990s.

In many cases when the TRA imposes bans on teachers they leave the way open for them to seek to have the ban lifted after a set period of years.

But in this case the sex activities of Mr Wilkes with two girl pupils years apart were considered so serious that the ban should be for life.

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The panel had been told that the more recent offence with a vulnerable sixth former (identified only as pupil A) had among other things involved him and the girl naked and sexually touching in the school's art studios, partially undressing in a car and sexually touching, and having sex on several occasions.

The panel's findings say: "In the statement of agreed facts, Mr Wilkes admits that when pupil A was in the sixth form, he was pupil A's teacher and that he engaged in a sexual relationship with her.

"He accepts that, he and pupil A were at two separate school functions and met up in the night at the school's art studios, and that whilst there, he and pupil A were naked and engaged in sexual touching.

"He acknowledges that he also met pupil A after another function in his car, and that both he and pupil A were partly undressed and engaged in sexual touching.

"He admits that he engaged in sexual activity and had sexual intercourse with pupil A on several occasions, including at his home accommodation, at the school and during an overseas school trip."

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He admitted all the allegations against him which included: the Worcester Crown Court conviction; engaging in sex with the first girl in or around 1990; that his behaviour had been sexually motivated; and that he had told another girl who caught him kissing pupil A not to tell anyone.

In recommending that he should be banned from teaching for life the TRA said they were satisfied he was guilty of "unacceptable professional conduct."

They said that he had accepted that his behaviour had been "totally inappropriate" and that he regretted them happening. However, the panel said there were "indications that Mr Wilkes does not entirely appreciate the impact that his actions have had on pupil A."

Backing their findings and imposing the life time ban TRA decision maker Sarah Buxcey said that after taking the panel's findings and comments into account she considered that imposing a life time ban was "necessary to maintain public confidence and is proportionate and in the public interest."

She said the panel had taken the view there was a "real risk of repetition" given that there had been 18 years between the affairs with the two girls.