Yarm School: Teacher lied about experience and playing rugby

Paul Elliott was head of religion and philosophy at Yarm School before staff raised concerns

A "Marmite" teacher persistently lied about his education and rugby experience to get jobs at private schools, a misconduct panel has found.

Paul Elliott falsely claimed he had studied at Oxford University and played professional rugby, the Teaching Regulation Agency (TRA) said.

Mr Elliott admitted making mistakes in job applications but denied dishonesty.

A teacher misconduct panel found 13 allegations proven and will consider what sanction should be imposed.

'Exaggeration and falsification'

Mr Elliott was appointed head of religion and philosophy at Yarm School in Yarm, Teesside, in August 2018, but was dismissed 14 months later after the school became concerned "he had not been truthful in his application," the panel's chairman Clive Ruddle said.

The school, which charges £4,921 a term, identified a number of "inconsistencies" throughout his employment history, which included jobs at a number of prestigious schools, and reported him to the TRA.

Claims the misconduct panel found proven to be false included that Mr Elliott:

• Studied medicine at Oxford University in the 1980s and played rugby for them in 1995

• Was a "visiting scholar" at Cambridge University in 2005-06

• Was a professional player for Wigan Warriors on an £80,000-a-year contract until his career was curtailed by injury

• Was selected to play rugby against Australia when they toured the UK in 1988

• Was a director of rugby, assistant director of sport and master in charge of Oxbridge at Churcher's College

Representing the TRA, Michael O'Donohoe said Mr Elliott had shown a "career-spanning pattern of dishonesty ... exaggeration and outright falsifications" with Wigan Warriors and Oxford and Cambridge universities having no record of him.

In a written submission to the panel, Mr Elliott said he was admitted to hospital shortly after his arrival at Oxford so was unable to officially enrol but he attended guest lectures.

'Marmite' figure

Mr O'Donohoe said even on Mr Elliot's own account, there was still a "world of difference" between attending guest lectures and studying medicine full time at Oxford University as he had claimed in his job application and CV.

Mr Elliott also claimed he played rugby for Oxford University, but Mr O'Donohoe said he would not have been able to if he was not officially enrolled as a student, and there was no mention of him in a match programme for a game he supposedly was going to play in.

Mr Elliott said he was briefly a professional rugby player for Wigan Warriors in the late 1990s but the club had no record of him and the archivist, who also played rugby and was of a similar age, had no memory of him.

Mr O'Donohoe said Mr Elliott was described by some witnesses as a very "memorable individual", a "Marmite" figure who had some "devotees" among his students as well as "students he made feel very uncomfortable indeed", adding: "He doesn't sound like someone you would be indifferent to. This would be someone one would remember playing alongside."

Mr Elliott had also claimed he was selected to play against Australia on their UK team for a team called "North" in 1988, but there was no mention of him in the match programme and Will Carling said he had "no recollection" of Mr Elliott, with the panel concluding the rugby legend would have remembered the teacher if they had trained together.

'Undermined trust'

In his submission to the panel, Mr Elliott said his name was not in the programme because he was asked to assume the identity of another player who could no longer attend, adding he was chosen because of his height, weight and because he was a "fearless tackler".

Mr O'Donohoe said Mr Elliott claimed to have been assistant director of sport and director of rugby at Churcher's College in Hampshire when he was in fact a PE teacher and coach for the under-15s team.

The misconduct panel found Mr Elliott, who did not attend the two-day hearing, was guilty of unacceptable professional conduct that may bring the profession into disrepute.

Mr Ruddle said the teacher acted "dishonestly" and "knew he had provided inaccurate information and had done so to enhance his qualifications and experience", adding he had "undermined trust in the profession by lying on his employment applications".

The panel's recommendation, which could include a teaching ban, will be passed to the secretary of state for education who will determine a sanction before it is publicly announced.