David Cooper

Introduction

David Cooper was a teacher of history at Tonbridge School, Kent, where he worked from September 2000 until May 2019. In the months after he was signed off work on health grounds, he made a series of disclosures to medical staff, the police and school staff that he had inappropriate and sexual thoughts about children. A Teaching Regulation Agency professional conduct panel in May 2025 found three of four allegations against him proved — all relating to those disclosures rather than any physical conduct — and concluded that his actions amounted to conduct that may bring the profession into disrepute. He was prohibited from teaching indefinitely, with no entitlement to apply for restoration.

Background Information

According to the panel’s decision, Cooper was employed as a teacher of history at Tonbridge School between September 2000 and May 2019. In May 2019 he was “signed off work as a result of health concerns”, and he went on to make comments and disclosures to medical staff which were in turn repeated to school staff and the police. The panel — Dr Martin Coles in the chair, with lay panellist Mrs Emma Garrett and teacher panellist Mrs Diana Barry — convened virtually between 20 and 22 May 2025. Cooper was not present and was not represented, and the hearing took place in private and was recorded.

The Controversy or Incident That Led to Their Cancellation

The allegations, set out in a notice of hearing dated 22 January 2025, were fourfold: that on one or more occasions in or around 2017 Cooper accessed one or more indecent images of a child on a mobile phone and/or using a school computer; that in or around December 2019 and/or January 2020 he made disclosures to medical staff that he had been having inappropriate thoughts about students at the school; that in or around February 2020 he made disclosures to the police that he had sexual thoughts about children; and that in the same month he made similar disclosures to school staff. The allegations were not admitted.

The panel found the last three allegations proved. A referral of an Alleged Safeguarding Concern dated 27 December 2020 records that Cooper said he had been “having inappropriate thoughts about the students he taught”, a disclosure supported by the evidence of Witness D. A crime report dated 26 February 2020 records that he had “made multiple disclosures to police officers on various dates between January and February 2020 that he had had sexual thoughts about children”; Witness C confirmed the disclosure was repeated to him when he visited that day. Witness A told the panel that at a meeting on or around 12 February 2020 Cooper “had admitted an interest in sexual material concerning children and that he liked some of the students he taught but had never acted upon such thoughts”, an account corroborated by Witness B. Cooper has had sight of all the evidence and has not disputed any of the records.

The first allegation was not proved. The school checked its IT systems and could find no such evidence, and although a review going back many years was not possible, the panel found no corroborating evidence or detail as to the images referred to. The decision notes there is no evidence Cooper had ever accessed any such images, and “no suggestion that Mr Cooper has ever acted upon any such thoughts or that any child had suffered harm or been exposed to immediate risk”; safeguarding measures were put in place as soon as the school became aware of the disclosures.

The panel held that the proved allegations, being private disclosures to professionals, could not be categorised as unacceptable professional conduct per se. On disrepute, however, it found the disclosures concerning, stating: “Any teacher having any such inappropriate or sexual thoughts about children or even disclosing that they did, whether true or not, would tend to bring the profession into disrepute.” Shortly before the hearing, Cooper wrote to the TRA confirming he had had inappropriate thoughts about children throughout his teaching career, though he had never acted upon them.

Public Reaction and Consequences

The panel weighed Cooper’s strong teaching record — it was presented with references attesting to his abilities and noted his contribution to textbooks in his field of history — against the gravity of the findings. Mitigating factors included his engagement with the TRA, some admissions and “some indication of insight”. Against that stood a clear breach of the Teachers’ Standards, serious public and child protection concerns, and the fact that “when he was offered options to explore treatment and counselling, he declined”. The panel found evidence of a “deep-seated attitude which would have the potential to lead to harmful behaviour” and concluded that the public interest outweighed any interest in retaining him, recommending a prohibition order with immediate effect and no review period. Decision maker Marc Cavey, acting on behalf of the Secretary of State, agreed, deciding the case on 27 May 2025.

Current Status

Cooper is prohibited from teaching for life. The decision states: “This means that Mr David Cooper is prohibited from teaching indefinitely and cannot teach in any school, sixth form college, relevant youth accommodation or children’s home in England.” In view of the seriousness of the proved allegations, the decision maker determined that Cooper “shall not be entitled to apply for restoration of his eligibility to teach”, making the bar permanent. The order takes effect from the date it is served on him, and he has a right of appeal to the High Court within 28 days of being given notice of it. The panel had found that, in the absence of any evidence of treatment or control measures, “Mr Cooper represents a risk of harm to children”.

Impact on Their Career/Life

The prohibition ended a teaching career of nearly nineteen years at one of England’s best-known independent schools. The panel accepted that no doubt had been cast upon Cooper’s abilities — it was “presented with references attesting to his abilities as a teacher and his positive record over a long period of time” — but it held that his disclosures and his expressed attitudes are “fundamentally incompatible with his being a teacher”. With no review period and no entitlement to apply for restoration of his eligibility to teach, the prohibition cannot lapse and is, for practical purposes, lifelong.

Sources

• Department for Education, “Teacher misconduct panel outcome: Mr David Cooper” — source