Alex Mohammed

Introduction

Alex Mohammed was a teacher of science and co-director of science at Durrington High School in Worthing, West Sussex, where he had worked since 1 September 2014. In February 2026, a professional conduct panel of the Teaching Regulation Agency (TRA) found that, across roughly five weeks in 2022, he exchanged flirtatious emails and photographs with a 15-year-old female pupil, including pictures of himself in bed and of a part-drunk pint of beer. The panel concluded he had groomed the pupil for sexual gratification and/or in pursuit of a future sexual relationship, found that element of his conduct sexually motivated — which he denied — and recommended he be banned from the classroom for good.

Background Information

Mohammed joined Durrington High School on 1 September 2014 and, by 2022, was employed as a teacher of science and co-director of science. On three occasions between January and July 2022, colleagues raised concerns about his conduct around some of his Year 11 students. He was made the subject of two warnings about his professional boundaries with pupils, in January and May 2022. The TRA issued a notice of proceedings dated 28 November 2025, and the panel sat on 25–26 February 2026 by virtual hearing. Mohammed was not present and was not represented.

The Controversy or Incident That Led to Their Cancellation

Adjudicated vs. alleged. The findings below are regulatory findings made on the balance of probabilities by a professional conduct panel of the Teaching Regulation Agency (TRA). In a statement of agreed facts dated 9 September 2025, Mr Mohammed admitted all of the factual allegations apart from sexual motivation: he denied that his conduct towards Pupil A was sexually motivated, and the panel found that allegation proved anyway. He also admitted that his conduct amounted to unacceptable professional conduct and/or conduct that may bring the profession into disrepute. They are findings of professional misconduct — no criminal charge is mentioned in the published decision.

Between around 7 April and 13 May 2022, Mohammed exchanged emails with Pupil A that the panel found to be personal in nature, without any good professional reason, and often outside regular school hours; it concluded that very few of the messages could be categorised as professional. They included discussion about what Pupil A wears in bed; remarks such as “you look good!”, “It’s cute” about her hair, “I wouldn’t let you pass out and if you did I’d look after you obvs”, “you gone to sleep yet?” sent at 12:37am, “wait until the summer till we waffle and we both be bad!”, and “I’m glad you aren’t with him any more lol” — a reference to her ex-boyfriend. There was a conversation about what might happen if they met in a sauna, references to Pupil A drinking alcohol, and the use of slang and coded language to refer to drink.

Photographs were also exchanged. On 11 May 2022, between 6.41pm and 6.45pm, Mohammed sent Pupil A a photograph of himself in bed and she replied with a picture of herself in a dressing gown; on 12 May, between 10.10pm and 10.15pm, they exchanged photographs of themselves lying in their beds. He also sent gym photographs on 10 May, and on Saturday 9 April at 7.00pm sent a picture of a part-drunk pint of beer, receiving in return an image of her workbook beside an open bottle of beer. The panel concluded the communication was inappropriate between a male teacher and a 15-year-old female pupil, and Mohammed accepted the overall flow of messages could be considered flirtatious in tone.

On 12 May 2022 he also engaged in inappropriate communication with another pupil, Pupil E, telling her “you’re a fantastic person and student” and “you’re amazing” in emails timed between 5.14pm and 8.58pm that day. He admitted failing to report his communications with Pupils A, B, C, D and E as a safeguarding concern. He denied sexual motivation, but the panel found he had groomed Pupil A “for sexual gratification and/or in pursuit of a future sexual relationship”.

Public Reaction and Consequences

The panel recommended that the Secretary of State make a prohibition order with no provision for a review period, citing the safeguarding of pupils, public confidence in the profession and the upholding of proper standards. It found the conduct carried “a real risk of significant harm to pupils”, although it accepted there was no evidence such harm had been caused — an absence it attributed at least partly to the school’s diligence in encouraging staff to raise concerns. The panel observed that his conduct “had the potential to harm children, in that professional boundaries exist to protect children’s well-being”. The decision on behalf of the Secretary of State recorded that all allegations had been found proven and called the findings “particularly serious as they include a finding of sexually motivated conduct towards a pupil”.

Current Status

Mohammed is subject to a prohibition order with no provision for a review period, meaning his exclusion from teaching in England is intended to be permanent. The panel acknowledged that he worked hard and had ability as an educator, and noted his written reflections showed insight into the way he had communicated with pupils and remorse for the conduct he admitted, while also taking account of his personal circumstances in February 2022. None of this altered its judgement that the public interest in protecting pupils outweighed any case for retaining him in the profession.

Impact on Their Career/Life

A teaching career spanning more than a decade at a single school ended with findings that his behaviour “fundamentally breached the standards of conduct” expected of a teacher. The prohibition order bars him from working in schools in England, and with no review period attached there is no route back to the classroom. Despite the panel’s recognition of his ability as an educator and the insight and remorse shown in his reflections, it concluded that the seriousness of grooming a 15-year-old pupil placed him beyond retention in the profession.

Sources

• Teaching Regulation Agency, “Teacher misconduct panel outcome: Alex Mohammed,” published 24 March 2026 — source