A physics teacher at Aston Academy in Swallownest, Rotherham, has been banned from teaching after a disciplinary panel found he conducted an inappropriate relationship with a female pupil over four years. Lee Nicholson, 39, was found guilty of unacceptable professional conduct by a Teaching Regulation Agency (TRA) panel, which cited "excessive one-on-one time" with the girl, including hand-holding and cuddling, from September 2014 onwards.

The TRA report detailed that Nicholson, who joined the school in 2010 and later became leader of post-16 provision, exchanged gifts with the pupil, locked himself with her in a school meeting room on several occasions, made sexual video calls to her, and encouraged her to take recreational drugs between 2014 and 2018. In 2023 a search of his home uncovered illegal drugs including cocaine, and he was convicted of drugs possession at Sheffield Magistrates' Court in April 2024, having claimed they were leftovers from music festivals for personal use. The panel noted he had missed many chances to disclose concerns through safeguarding channels and had admitted the relationship had a "devastating" effect on the pupil at a crucial stage of her development.