Patrick Cambridge
Introduction
Patrick Cambridge, born in 1967, was an experienced teacher who, by his own account to the Teaching Regulation Agency, qualified in 2006 and was serving as a head of department by 2008. After a brief post at Redehall School ended with his resignation in December 2023, he joined St Bede’s School in Redhill as a teacher of computing on 2 January 2024. He was dismissed within a month once omissions from his job application came to light. A professional conduct panel of the Teaching Regulation Agency (TRA) found his conduct dishonest and lacking in integrity, and in December 2025 he was prohibited from teaching indefinitely.
Background Information
The decision records that Cambridge taught at Redehall School from 11 November 2023, resigned on 7 December 2023 and was interviewed by St Bede’s School that same day, having sent his CV through a recruitment agency in late November. He submitted an application form on 12 December 2023 and began work on 2 January 2024. He was dismissed on 29 January 2024 following disciplinary proceedings, and both schools referred him to the TRA on 30 January 2024. The panel convened by virtual hearing on 8 December 2025; Cambridge was not present and was not represented, and the allegations were not admitted.
The Controversy or Incident That Led to Their Cancellation
Dishonesty-based prohibition. The findings below were made by a Teaching Regulation Agency professional conduct panel on the balance of probabilities; they are regulatory adjudications rather than court judgments, and no criminal charge was before the panel. Cambridge was absent and the allegations were not admitted. The panel did not consider the 5 December 2023 incident at Redehall School involving a pupil, as it formed no part of the allegations; the related proven finding concerned failure to disclose that he had been the subject of an investigation relating to physical contact towards a child.
The panel found that, on his St Bede’s application, Cambridge omitted Redehall School as his most recent employer and referee and stated that he was “Working on holiday home in Scotland whilst looking for IT teaching post” from September 2023, although he was employed at Redehall School during that period. When the school queried the application and sought a further reference, he again failed to put Redehall forward; the panel found repeated failures to disclose his employment there.
The omission unravelled on 9 January 2024, when the local authority designated officer told a St Bede’s witness that Cambridge was subject to an investigation involving a child from Redehall School. He emailed the headteacher the next day saying he had been “attacked last year”, without disclosing that the matter involved a pupil; the panel found the email “carefully worded”. In a meeting that day he confirmed his Redehall employment, agreed he had been “naughty” to omit it and apologised, and was dismissed on 29 January 2024.
On the investigation, the panel relied on his resignation email of 7 December 2023, which stated “For my own safety I am giving you notice of my resignation from today as advised by my union” and offered to comply with the safeguarding investigation — significant, the panel found, in concluding that he knew the investigation was underway. His later account that the matter had not been investigated as far as he was aware was found inconsistent, and the panel determined he had known of his obligation to disclose it.
Applying the Ivey v Genting Casinos test, the panel determined that ordinary decent people would consider his actions dishonest: the repeated attempts to withhold information about his Redehall employment were an intentional attempt to conceal the truth because of the ongoing investigation involving a pupil. His conduct was found both dishonest and lacking in integrity, amounting to unacceptable professional conduct and conduct that may bring the profession into disrepute.
On mitigation, the panel accepted he had a previous good history, and one witness said his subject knowledge “was strong for some aspects of his teaching timetable”. But his initial admissions were undermined by later correspondence blaming both schools and the recruitment agency, and the panel found no genuine remorse or insight. It recommended a prohibition order with immediate effect and a four-year review period.
Public Reaction and Consequences
The published decision records no public or media reaction; the documented consequences are disciplinary and regulatory. Cambridge was suspended on 10 January 2024 and dismissed on 29 January 2024; his representations to the hearing noted that he realised the decision not to mention Redehall “might now have cost him his career”. The panel found strong public interest considerations in the safeguarding and wellbeing of pupils, since his concealment attempted to circumvent recruitment processes designed to safeguard pupils, and in maintaining public confidence in the profession and proper standards of conduct. It concluded that the adverse public interest considerations outweighed any interest in retaining him.
Current Status
By a decision dated 11 December 2025, Sarah Buxcey, acting for the Secretary of State, imposed a prohibition order taking effect from service, endorsing the recommended four-year review period. Mr Cambridge is prohibited from teaching indefinitely and cannot teach in any school, sixth form college, relevant youth accommodation or children’s home in England. He may apply for the order to be set aside, but not until 16 December 2029 at the earliest, and this is not an automatic right; a fresh panel would reconsider the matter. He retains a right of appeal to the High Court within 28 days of notice of the order.
Impact on Their Career/Life
The prohibition ends a teaching career spanning nearly two decades. The panel gave less weight to his contribution to the profession, finding that although he had a previous good history he had not demonstrated exceptionally high standards of personal and professional conduct. In a statement to the TRA he wrote “I remain proud of my years of service, my contribution to pupils and colleagues, and the values that guided me throughout my teaching career”. Any return to teaching could come only through a successful application to set aside the order after 16 December 2029.