Georgie Worboys

Introduction

Georgie Worboys was an art teacher at Prince William School in Oundle from 1 September 2015. Between February and June 2020 she exchanged thousands of Facebook messages with a sixth-form pupil, sent the pupil an image of herself without a top or bra on, made a series of sexual comments to her in class, and then asked her to delete the evidence. A Teaching Regulation Agency (TRA) professional conduct panel found the core allegations proved at a virtual public hearing held in her absence from 18 to 21 September 2023, including that her conduct was sexually motivated and dishonest. On 27 September 2023, decision maker Sarah Buxcey, acting on behalf of the Secretary of State for Education, prohibited her from teaching indefinitely, with no review period.

Background Information

Worboys, whose TRA reference was 19414, completed Level 2 safeguarding training in September 2018 and attended the annual safeguarding update in September 2019. In November 2018, Pupil A made a disclosure to the school about serious harm caused by a family member, and Worboys became part of the small safeguarding team supporting her. Pupil A was categorised by the school as vulnerable; Pupil B, another pupil in her art class, had also been known to school safeguarding. Pupil A turned 18 in January 2020.

The Controversy or Incident That Led to Their Cancellation

Sexually motivated boundary breaches against two vulnerable pupils via Facebook Messenger.

On 27 February 2020, Worboys sent Pupil A a request to connect on Facebook Messenger, and an intense exchange of messages followed. The panel found she knew or ought to have known the contact was inappropriate: she was Pupil A’s teacher, had safeguarding training, and served on the team responsible for the pupil’s wellbeing. She asked Pupil A for her mobile phone number and contacted her on it. Among the messages, she sent an image of herself without a top or bra on — Pupil A replied “wow”, and Worboys responded “That’ll need deleting lol.” — and she requested that Pupil A send her nudes and photos of a sexual nature. Screenshots Pupil A later provided showed over 2000 messages between them, many explicitly sexual, including one in which Worboys wrote “you always contact when I’m naked”.

The panel found all nine particulars of allegation 6 proved: Worboys asked Pupil A about her sexuality and her “type” and who she was dating; asked whether she was a virgin (“so not a virgin”); told her “well, you won’t be needing any of those” when she described condom graffiti in the toilets; remarked “I don’t know why I’m asking you as you’re not straight” in front of the class; commented on her clothes and appearance; asked her to meet in the Art cupboard so they could kiss; and, on learning Pupil A had dated Pupil B, asked whether they had sex and whether it “was good”, saying she would “do a better job”. The panel also found that Worboys and Pupil A kissed in Worboys’ car.

In March and April 2020 she also contacted Pupil B via Facebook Messenger, which the panel found inappropriate, though not sexually motivated. On or around 10 April 2020, after Pupil A commented that “if anyone saw these messages, you’re f**cked”, Worboys replied “so then we stop” and then “so delete messages and numbers then done until next year”. The panel found this was an attempt to cover up the contact and discourage disclosure, and that it was dishonest by the standards of ordinary decent people. It did, however, find the three alleged instances of inappropriate physical contact and the claim that she knew Pupil B was vulnerable not proven.

The school began to unravel it in June 2020: Worboys claimed her phone had been hacked, but the panel concluded the personal content of the messages and her number on the school system showed she had sent them herself. Pupil A disclosed concerns about a staff member on 19 June 2020, the Local Authority Designated Officer was informed on 26 June 2020, the investigation concluded on 30 June 2020, and a disciplinary hearing took place on 14 July 2020. The matter was referred to the TRA on 17 July 2020, and on 13 September 2020 police confirmed it did not reach the criminal threshold. Worboys denied all allegations in an email to the TRA on 7 July 2023 and did not attend the hearing, which proceeded in her absence.

Public Reaction and Consequences

The panel found allegations 1, 2, 3, 4, all nine particulars of allegation 6, and allegations 7, 8 and 9 proved — including that the conduct towards Pupil A was sexually motivated, that the cover-up attempt was dishonest, and that Worboys knew Pupil A was vulnerable. It found her conduct amounted to both unacceptable professional conduct and conduct that may bring the profession into disrepute. It noted her failure to engage meaningfully with the investigations, her hacking claim, and her exaggeration of a March 2023 message sent from Pupil A’s account by a friend to divert attention from the allegations. The panel found no insight or remorse and a significant risk of recurrence. It recommended a prohibition order with immediate effect and no review period, given the seriousness of the sexual misconduct and her use of her professional position.

Current Status

On 27 September 2023, Sarah Buxcey accepted the recommendation on behalf of the Secretary of State. Georgie Worboys 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 allegations found proved, she is not entitled to apply for restoration of her eligibility to teach, so there is no review period and no route back to the classroom. The order took effect when served on her, and she has a right of appeal to the King’s Bench Division of the High Court within 28 days. The decision was published on GOV.UK in September 2023.

Impact on Their Career/Life

The findings ended Worboys’ eight-year teaching career outright: a disciplinary hearing in July 2020, a police complaint that stopped short of the criminal threshold, and a lifetime ban from every teaching setting in England. The panel’s conclusions — sexually motivated misconduct toward a vulnerable pupil she had been appointed to safeguard, dishonesty in trying to erase the messages, and no remorse — attach to her permanently in a published decision that any future employer can find. Because she may never apply for restoration, the prohibition is effectively absolute.

Sources

• Department for Education, “Teacher misconduct panel outcome: Miss Georgie Worboys” — source