Married chaplain at £17,000-a-year private school is banned from teaching for life for kissing and touching 'very vulnerable pupil for his own sexual gratification'

The married chaplain of a £17,000-a-year private school has been banned from teaching for life after he kissed and touched a 'very vulnerable pupil for his own sexual gratification'.

Reverend Tom Carson taught RE at Exeter School but quit in September 2021 after what the school called a 'serious breach' of its safeguarding policy involving an 18-year-old pupil.

Now a Teaching Regulation Agency misconduct panel has said Mr Carson carried out 'serious misconduct' by 'exploiting' the teenager.

The panel said his conduct happened over an extended period of time and was not a momentary lapse of judgement but a 'sustained course of conduct'.

He admitted engaging in an inappropriate relationship with Pupil A in 2021 away from school premises which led to hugging, holding hands, kissing and touching each other.

The panel said his conduct was sexually motivated and he told Pupil A to delete text messages and emails between them and told Pupil A to give an edited version of their relationship when he resigned and an investigation would follow.

He eventually reported his breach to the school's headteacher and Pupil A's mother but said his actions brought the teaching profession into disrepute.

Reverend Tom, as he was called by the pupils, was appointed in 2015 and was the school's first full time chaplain. 

He taught religious studies to all age groups and had previously been Head of RS at Wallington High School for girls and joined from Mortlake and East Sheen in south west London.

He is married to Marian and they have two children.

A Teaching Regulation Agency misconduct panel said: 'Mr Carson was responsible for a series of failings in relation to his conduct with Pupil A.

'These included serious misconduct with a very vulnerable pupil, in which he exploited Pupil A for his own sexual gratification.

'Mr Carson's actions had a significant harmful impact on Pupil A's life and has continued for a number of years.

'Mr Carson's dishonest actions in attempting to conceal the true nature of the relationship went hand in hand with his other exploitative actions with Pupil A.'

The Diocese of Exeter stated on its website that Reverend Carson has 'consented to a prohibition of four years from the office of Holy Orders for not observing appropriate professional boundaries through an inappropriate relationship with a young adult in his care. 

'The prohibition began on December 9, 2021.'

In September 2021 a letter was sent to the parents of the 900 pupils at the independent co-educational school when Carson quit.

It stated: 'It is our current understanding that no criminal offence has been committed.

'The breach appears to have been isolated to a single pupil who left the school after completing their A level studies. We are continuing to support the former pupil; their wellbeing and that of their family is our greatest concern.' 

An independent third-party investigation commissioned by the school at the time did not find 'evidence of a wider-spread issue and we have no reason to believe that others have been affected'. 

The gender of the pupil has not been disclosed.