Teacher 'took pupil on a camping trip and told her he loved her'

Clitheroe Royal Grammar School
-Credit: (Image: Google Street View)


A grammar school teacher who took a pupil out on a camping trip and told her he loved her has been banned from the profession.

Simon Mumford, a "highly regarded" physics teacher and former head of department at Clitheroe Royal Grammar School, was found to have had an inappropriate relationship with the pupil. However, the Teaching Regulation Authority (TRA) found no evidence that the teacher's actions were sexually motivated, LancsLive reports.

Mr Mumford took the pupil on an out of school camping trip, kissed her on the cheek, put his arm around her and told her he loved her. A misconduct hearing heard that in 2021, the pupil kept a private diary in which she described Mr Mumford as "the best teacher ever". But she said: "I cannot deal with being his surrogate daughter."

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At the time of the allegations, Mr Mumford was having emotional difficulties, which he shared with the pupil. The youngster was struggling with issues at home which could sometimes be a distraction to her learning.

During the 2020 lockdown, the teacher suggested the youngster should visit Priests Hole Cave in the Lake District, and later arranged an overnight trip there in his camper van. The girl's parents agreed to the trip, however the hearing heard it was not authorised as an out of school activity.

On June 18 to June 19, 2021, the pair met with a third person at the cave and spent the night there. The girl said her teacher “wanted to show her the views and what it is like to experience sleeping under the stars”.

Mr Mumford admitted he slept next to the pupil, however they were in separate sleeping bags with a distance of at least a foot between them. He said it was initially intended another pupil would join them on the trip, to encourage the youngsters to provide emotional support to each other.

The panel concluded the trip was "inappriopriate" and in organising it, Mr Mumford had "encouraged a relationship which went beyond a professional teacher and pupil relationship, thereforefailing to maintain appropriate professional boundaries".

While on the trip, Mr Mumford kissed the girl twice on her cheek and put his arm around her, although she understood this was in a "fatherly way". In her diary entry, dated June 19, she wrote: “He told me he loved me and kissed my cheek. It’s so much, so quickly”.

The panel found that regardless of whether the kissing was done in a paternal way, there would be no circumstances where it would be appropriate to kiss a pupil and therefor Mr Mumford failed to maintain professional boundaries with his pupil. Mr Mumford also tapped the pupil twice on her leg.

The panel also heard the the physics teacher had one-to-one conversations with the pupil in person and on Microsoft Teams. The pupil said her teacher encouraged her to reach out to him and on one occasion sought permission from her parents to speak out of hours - however consent was never sought after that.

During the chats, the teacher disclosed personal information about difficulties he was having, and the pupil offered advice on dealing with teenagers. The panel accepted that althugh it may be appropriate for teachers to have one-to-one conversations with pupils in some circumstances, the sharing of personal information and out of hours chats were inappropriate and "failed to maintain the relationship of teacher and pupil and had therefore failed to maintain appropriate professional boundaries".

However the hearing concluded there was no evidence of a sexual motive in Mr Mumford's behaviour. The teacher admitted he had made "a huge error of judgement" in a "wholly misguided" attempt to support the youngster.

He was also in "the worst emotional state of his life" he said.

Friends and colleagues provided character references for the hearing, which described Mr Mumford as "inspiring, encouraging, supportive and caring."

One former colleague said: "Simon always gave willingly of his time and boundless energy when they needed help, both educationally and emotionally. He cared passionately about the success of students and the physics department. His efforts also included the staff and hewas instrumental in setting up an afterschool cycling group, trips away walking inthe countryside and a “period 6” social event on Friday that even a physics teacher and technician who have left the school continue to attend.”

Another said: “Simon’s tireless dedication to teaching is unmistakeable, and his exceptional skills in this regard would be a substantial loss to our field should he be unable tocontinue pursuing his passion and expertise.”

As a result of the findings, the TRA found Mr Mumford was profoundly sorry for his actions and the impact they had on the pupil. They accepted he had been through "significant personal difficulties" and was now seeking support.

However they noted he had failed to persuade them he fully understood the impact of his safeguarding obligations moving forwards and noted their fear there was a risk of repetition, if he were allowed to stay in the teaching profession.

As a result of their findings, the TRA prohibited Mr Mumford from teaching for a period of two years. He may apply for the prohibition to be lifted, but not before September 2026.