Mr Gary Shores

Introduction

Mr Gary Shores is a former science teacher at Bridlington School who has been banned from teaching for life. His case reached the Teaching Regulation Agency on a single allegation: that on 22 August 2017, while he was working as a teacher at Bridlington School, an extreme pornographic image was created on his mobile device, for which he received a police caution on 1 April 2021. Shores did not attend the hearing and was not represented, and the allegation was not admitted in his absence; the panel found it proved on the balance of probabilities. On 12 February 2024 the decision maker, acting on behalf of the Secretary of State, prohibited him from teaching indefinitely, with no review period and no entitlement to apply for restoration. He has not worked as a teacher since 2019.

Background Information

The panel heard evidence from the school’s Senior Finance Officer confirming that Shores was employed by Bridlington School from 1 September 2016 to 31 December 2017. Contemporaneous 2016 documentation confirmed his role as a Science Teacher, and his resignation letter of 20 September 2017 with its acceptance of 29 September 2017 confirmed both the role and that his employment would end on 31 December 2017. Shores disputed the basic premise, asserting in April 2023: “I was not a teacher at Bridlington School for when the alleged image was created (22 Aug 2017)”. The panel found there was no supporting evidence for this and that the assertion was directly and conclusively disproved by the contemporaneous documentation. The hearing itself had been adjourned on 15 November 2023 and re-convened on 7 February 2024, proceeding in his absence.

The Controversy or Incident That Led to Their Cancellation

Allegations and findings. The findings in this section are those of a Teaching Regulation Agency professional conduct panel, which reported proving the allegation on the balance of probabilities at a hearing held in public in the teacher’s absence. Mr Shores did not participate and was not represented; the allegation was not admitted.

The police caution signed by Shores and dated 1 April 2021 recorded that evidence of the possession of an extreme pornographic image was found on his phone: a video of a female performing oral sex on a horse, falling within the extreme pornography category of images portraying oral sex with a live animal, whose metadata showed it was created on 22/08/2017 from WhatsApp. Evidence from the police’s Digital Forensic Unit, relayed in an email of 18 January 2024, explained that the “created” date refers to the date the video was downloaded or saved to the phone. The panel treated that explanation with caution but found on balance that it was accurate, and that the extreme pornographic image was created on Shores’ device on 22 August 2017. He also asserted that the image was sent after he stopped teaching in 2019; the panel found no evidence to support this and did not accept it.

The panel considered that the fact of the caution established a clear admission of guilt for the offence for which it was given and carried significant weight, while noting that a caution is not conclusive evidence of the relevant facts in the same way as a conviction. His suggestion that he had been the target of a malicious entrapment venture was rejected as being at odds with the fact that he retained the image for two years between its creation and his arrest, at no time seeking to report or delete it. Finding the conduct fell significantly short of the standards expected of the profession — a willing and knowing decision to retain an extreme and illegal image, in his possession for a prolonged period, that significantly called his judgement into question — the panel found unacceptable professional conduct and conduct that may bring the profession into disrepute. It noted the allegation took place outside the education setting, but found it could still ground both findings.

Public Reaction and Consequences

The panel viewed illegal activity involving extreme pornographic material concerning sexual activity with animals as a matter that should be viewed very seriously for its potential influence on pupils and as a possible threat to the public interest. It weighed in Shores’ favour that he had not worked as a teacher since 2019 and that a caution sits at the lower end of outcomes for a criminal offence and would be disclosable in a DBS check, but found this did not mitigate against his being an active risk to pupils and the public, since nothing barred him from applying for a teaching role. He adduced no evidence in mitigation and demonstrated no remorse or insight. Concerned at the risk of repetition were he allowed to teach again, the panel recommended a prohibition order with immediate effect and no provision for review.

Current Status

Mr Shores is prohibited from teaching indefinitely and cannot teach in any school, sixth form college, relevant youth accommodation or children’s home in England. Because of the seriousness of the allegation found proved against him, he is not entitled to apply for restoration of his eligibility to teach. The order takes effect from the date on which it is served on him, and he has a right of appeal to the King’s Bench Division of the High Court within 28 days of notice. The panel’s findings — the caution, the image, the failed denials of his own employment record — stand as the published record against his name.

Impact on Their Career/Life

Shores’ last teaching post ended on 31 December 2017, and he had not worked as a teacher since 2019 even before the TRA proceedings concluded; the prohibition order now forecloses any return permanently, since he may never apply for restoration. The panel’s reasoning was pointed: a teacher who knowingly kept an illegal extreme image on his phone for two years, denied it was his device, then declined to take part in the hearing, had demonstrated neither integrity nor insight. With the absence of remorse treated as itself a risk factor, the decision means the findings are not merely historical but permanently disqualifying.

Sources

• Teaching Regulation Agency, “Teacher misconduct panel outcome: Mr Gary Shores” — source