March 2016 Malton School teacher struck off for affair with pupil A secondary school teacher has been banned from teaching for life after having a relationship with a student. Timothy Richardson joined Malton School as a newly qualified teacher in 2004 and was promoted to the position of head of upper school in 2012. But a disciplinary hearing was told how he had a relationship with a female pupil soon after he started working at the school, during which time the sixth former, named as “Student A”, would stay at his home in Scarborough.  The school began to investigate Mr Richardson due to concerns over his honesty, after he fraudulently produced hospital letters to explain absences from work in 2012 and 2013. The National College of Teaching and Leadership panel heard Timothy Richardson, 34, had a relationship with a year 13 student at Malton School. Mr Richardson did not appear but had earlier given a statement saying he “regretted” his behaviour. He resigned his position as head of upper school in 2012. A disciplinary hearing had been set for July 2014. The affair with the pupil came to light after the school began an investigation into whether Mr Richardson, who joined Malton School after qualifying in 2004, had misled it about reasons for absences from work in 2012 and 2013. Alan Meyrick, deputy director of the National College of Teaching and Leadership, said: “Mr Richardson formed an inappropriate sexual relationship with a pupil, and produced fraudulent documentation to support unexplained absences from school. “I agree with the panel’s view that the public has a right to expect teachers to respect appropriate professional boundaries in their relationships with pupils. Mr Richardson failed to do this.”