Charlotte Gavin
Introduction
Ms Charlotte Gavin was an Assistant Principal at Corby Business Academy, a senior role she held from January 2019 until her resignation on 9 October 2023. Behind that record sat two drink-drive convictions: a September 2022 conviction for driving with 59 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath, and a January 2024 conviction for being in charge of a vehicle with 112 microgrammes. A Teaching Regulation Agency (TRA) professional conduct panel found she had kept the arrest and first conviction from her Academy — conduct it judged dishonest and lacking in integrity — and that both convictions were convictions of a relevant offence. She is prohibited from teaching indefinitely, and cannot apply to have the order set aside until June 2028 at the earliest.
Background Information
According to the TRA decision, Ms Gavin worked at Corby Business Academy from January 2019, resigning on 9 October 2023. Two months later she was interviewed at Abbeyfield School in Northampton for a Teacher of English post, where she disclosed her first conviction; she was offered the job on 10 December 2023, with no start date pending further checks including DBS clearance. On 12 January 2024 the School received an email from a third party about her second offence, she confirmed the matter by telephone, and the offer was withdrawn on 19 January 2024. The School referred her to the TRA on 1 February 2024; the Academy followed on 7 March 2024.
The Controversy or Incident That Led to Their Cancellation
Adjudicated vs. alleged. Unlike many subjects on this site, Charlotte Gavin really does have two criminal convictions: she pleaded guilty at Northampton Magistrates’ Court to two separate alcohol-related motoring offences, and the TRA panel treated the certificates of conviction as conclusive proof. The remaining findings are civil regulatory findings made on the balance of probabilities. She admitted failing to tell her Academy about the first offence, and admitted that cover-up was dishonest and lacked integrity; the panel dismissed the allegation that she brought an open bottle of wine onto school premises and declined to find dishonesty in her dealings with the next school.
At Northampton Magistrates’ Court on 2 September 2022, Ms Gavin pleaded guilty to driving after “consuming so much alcohol that the proportion of it in your breath, namely 59 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath, exceeded the prescribed limit”. She was fined £646, with a £258 victim surcharge and £85 in costs, and disqualified from driving for 16 months. Her second conviction, on 15 January 2024, was for being “in charge of a motor vehicle … in a public place, namely Rushden Lakes Car Park” on 17 December 2023 with 112 microgrammes; she received a 12-month community order including up to 20 rehabilitation activity requirement days, a £114 surcharge, £85 costs, and 10 penalty points on her licence.
The panel found she told the Academy about neither the July 2022 arrest nor the September 2022 conviction — admitted in a Statement of Agreed Facts she signed on 26 May 2026. The Academy’s policy required staff to notify it of “any arrest or criminal charge, whether child-related or not”. Sitting on the Senior Leadership Team and attending the safeguarding update held each September, the panel found, she “must have known” disclosure was required, and the failure was both dishonest and a breach of the ethical standards expected of an Assistant Principal.
Two other matters failed. The panel did not find proved the claim that on 5 October 2023 she brought an open bottle of wine onto Academy premises: the only witness to see a bottle could not say whether it was open, having seen it “pocking [sic] out of the top of her handbag”, colleagues confirmed she did not smell of alcohol or appear under the influence, and staff were routinely gifted bottles of wine. Ms Gavin maintained “the bottle of wine was sealed and was kept in my locked office”. And while the panel found she did not tell Abbeyfield School of her December 2023 arrest and January 2024 court date, it found no requirement on her to do so at that stage — she was not yet an employee, and had disclosed the first conviction at interview — and no dishonesty or lack of integrity in the omission.
Public Reaction and Consequences
The panel weighed real mitigation. A colleague, Witness A, described her as “always been a professional and hard-working member of staff” who was “very caring in relation to the children that she teaches”, and Ms Gavin wrote that she was “deeply regretful that I did not disclose this at the time”. But the panel saw “two separate alcohol-related convictions, separated by a significant period” which “demonstrated a pattern of behaviour”, found the dishonesty deliberate, and noted the absence of any evidence of rehabilitation or steps to manage her drinking: her “evidence of remorse, insight, and reduced risk of repetition was limited”. It stopped short of unacceptable professional conduct but found conduct that may bring the profession into disrepute, and recommended prohibition with a two-year review period.
Current Status
The panel’s determination is dated 5 June 2026. Decision maker David Oatley, deciding for the Secretary of State on 8 June 2026, agreed prohibition was proportionate and in the public interest, noting the panel’s view that “both of Ms Gavin’s convictions would affect public confidence in the teaching profession if she was allowed to continue teaching”. Ms Gavin is prohibited from teaching indefinitely and cannot teach in any school, sixth form college, relevant youth accommodation or children’s home in England. She may apply for the order to be set aside, but not until 15 June 2028, and this is not an automatic right. She has 28 days from notice of the order to appeal to the High Court. The decision was published in June 2026.
Impact on Their Career/Life
The prohibition order ends Ms Gavin’s teaching career in England, along with the senior leadership post she built over nearly five years at Corby Business Academy. The criminal courts’ penalties — the fines, surcharges, a 16-month driving disqualification and a 12-month community order — ran alongside the professional sanction, and her licence carries 10 penalty points. The published TRA decision is a permanent public record that attaches to her name, recording two drink-drive convictions and findings of deliberate dishonesty and a lack of integrity.