Aaron Gardner

Introduction

Aaron Gardner is a former teacher at Hurstpierpoint College in West Sussex, where he taught year 4 in the primary school, and he is now banned from teaching for life. In September 2021 he was sentenced at Lewes Crown Court to two years’ imprisonment for causing or inciting sexual activity with a girl aged 13 to 17 while in a position of trust, a relationship with a former pupil that ran from 2012 to 2014. A Teaching Regulation Agency panel found the allegation proved on 13 September 2023, and on 18 September 2023 Marc Cavey, deciding on behalf of the Secretary of State, prohibited him from teaching indefinitely, with no review period and no entitlement to apply for restoration.

Background Information

Gardner, born 4 April 1989 and holding teacher reference number 1050645, worked as a year 4 primary school teacher at Hurstpierpoint College. He was a recently qualified teacher at the time of the events that gave rise to his conviction. After his departure from the College, a former pupil referred to as Person A alleged that the two had engaged in a sexual relationship; by the time the allegations came to light, Gardner was employed at Bedales Prep School. The matter was referred to the Teaching Regulation Agency on 24 July 2019 and reported to the police that October.

The Controversy or Incident That Led to Their Cancellation

Conviction. In September 2021 Mr Gardner was sentenced at Lewes Crown Court to two years’ imprisonment for causing or inciting sexual activity with a girl aged 13 to 17 while in a position of trust — a former pupil of the West Sussex college where he had taught. The offending, committed between 2012 and 2014, was admitted; the convictions are court-record facts.

In October 2019, after the referral, the matter was reported to the police and Gardner was charged with six offences under sections 16 and 17 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003. On 23 June 2021 he was convicted of two offences at Crawley Magistrates’ Court, and on 17 September 2021 he was sentenced at Lewes Crown Court to two offences of causing or inciting sexual activity with a female 13 to 17 offender, 18 or over, abuse of position of trust, committed between 14 September 2012 and 22 June 2014, contrary to section 17 of the Act. The sentence was two years’ imprisonment, a restraining order, a ten-year sexual harm prevention order, ten years’ registration under section 92 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003 and a victim surcharge.

The sentencing remarks set out what the judge found. Gardner had had a sexual interest in Person A when she was around 15 and came “close to committing some form of criminal act with her when she was that age but never did so”. He “embarked upon a sexual relationship with [Person A] within a very short period of time of her arriving at college and then it carried on for two years”, and the relationship involved “multiple sexual acts committed both on school premises and at [his] home”. The judge noted that Gardner touched her in front of other students in a way they could not see, saying it showed he was “gaining pleasure from the illicit nature of relationship”, and treated it as an aggravating feature.

At a virtual panel meeting on 13 September 2023, held without a hearing at Gardner’s request, he admitted the allegation and that it was a conviction of a relevant offence; the panel accepted the certificate of conviction as conclusive proof and found the allegation proved.

Public Reaction and Consequences

The panel called Gardner’s conduct “an egregious breach of trust” and found no relevant mitigating circumstances in the commission of the offences. It accepted that he had an otherwise good record, had fully engaged with the TRA and had pleaded guilty, but weighed against this that his actions were deliberate and sustained over two years, and that his insight was at best emerging: his written submission described his conduct as foolish and alluded to a lack of understanding of his professional obligations regarding the age of consent, which the panel held trivialised what he had done. It had concerns about the genuineness and level of the insight, regret and remorse he demonstrated, and recommended a prohibition order with immediate effect and no review period. The custodial sentence and the accompanying orders remain the court’s own consequences, independent of the regulatory outcome.

Current Status

On 18 September 2023 Marc Cavey, deciding on behalf of the Secretary of State for Education, made a prohibition order taking effect from the date it was served on Gardner. He endorsed the panel’s recommendation of no review period, citing the seriousness of the findings of sexual offences involving a pupil and the lack of full insight or remorse, and decided that Gardner is not entitled to apply for restoration of his eligibility to teach. The practical effect is that he cannot teach in any school, sixth form college, relevant youth accommodation or children’s home in England, and the bar is indefinite. He had a right of appeal to the King’s Bench Division of the High Court within 28 days of notice of the order.

Impact on Their Career/Life

Gardner’s teaching career is over: the prohibition order is for life and closes even the route of applying for restoration, which most prohibited teachers can at least attempt after a review period. The criminal consequences run alongside: a two-year prison sentence, a ten-year sexual harm prevention order and ten years on the sex offenders register. He was a recently qualified teacher when the offending began. The decision records only his written submission to the TRA, in which he purported to apologise; no other public response from him appears in the published material.

Sources

• TRA, “Teacher misconduct panel outcome: Mr Aaron Gardner” — source