Teacher feared his 'moment of madness' would be exposed

A high school science teacher has confessed to supplying exam answers to a student to help him cheat.

During his physics, biology and chemistry exams in March 2021, 'pupil A' had received the answer sheet in advance from teacher Adam Lowery, according to a report presented to the teacher regulation agency (TRA) yesterday (Monday July 1). Professional judo athlete turned educator, Mr Lowery, acknowledged the claims about his behaviour while at Rainford High School three years ago.

Jonathan Storey, representing Mr Lowery, informed a panel of three people that Mr Lowery conceded he had 'given an unfair advantage' to pupil A in examinations which would have contributed to his ultimate GCSE grades, reports the Liverpool Echo.

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The tribunal was briefed on how Mr Lowery, a former assistant headteacher at another school, had been employed at Rainford High School in St Helens from September 2019. In March 2021, pupil A underwent three internal exams which were expected to determine his final GCSE grades bearing in mind formal examinations were put off due to covid-19.

Mr Lowery provided him with test questions and the respective marking scheme. The teacher then supervised the physics exam sat by pupil A on March 31, 2021.

The inflated marks first became suspect when three separate teachers noticed that pupil A's exam scores were "extraordinarily high" and his responses closely resembled those contained within documents exclusively available to staff members. It was Richard Spedding, the school's head of physics, who flagged these concerns to the school's leadership.

The student indicated in his interview that he earned the grades "through hard work", before retracting and asserting to have found the answers on the internet. Mr Lowery was also questioned on the same day and stated that while he prepared all students equally, he developed online resources specifically for this pupil.

It later emerged that Mr Lowery had provided the student with a pack detailing the correct responses. It was stated that the former educator - who tendered his resignation in May 2021 - initially lied due to his fear of the situation.

Hence, the student's scores in the three exams were eventually discarded from his final GCSE mark.

Whilst being interrgated by Mr Storey, Mr Lowery admitted he felt like he had let down the community and the school with his misconduct which he described as a "moment of madness and stupidity."

He conceded: "Not a moment goes by where I don't regret it but I can't turn the clock back."

He expressed deep remorse over the disgrace experienced by all parties involved. Mr Storey specified that his client had "developed a sense of embarrassment" and "accepts he acted as no teacher should."

The TRA panel will now establish whether Mr Lowery's conduct was unprofessional and determine if any penalties should be inflicted. The hearing is still underway.