Hebburn assistant head banned for giving pupils false marks

Colin Laughton had worked at Hebburn Comprehensive for more than 23 years

An assistant head teacher has been banned from teaching after admitting giving false marks for coursework - including swapping two pupils' work.

Colin Laughton had worked at Hebburn Comprehensive in South Tyneside for 23 years when the exam board queried marks he awarded for coursework in 2019.

He admitted what he had done and said "there is no-one else to blame but me".

A Teaching Regulatory Agency disciplinary hearing banned him from teaching at any school in England.

Between May and July 2019, Mr Laughton, 49, who was head of ICT, awarded false marks for internally-assessed components of one or more pupils' coursework where there was no evidence to justify the marks awarded, the panel heard.

He submitted false marks for one or more pupils before work had been completed, before he had seen it or where the work was not the pupil's own.

The panel was told Mr Laughton gave one pupil 34 marks for her coursework when she had not done the work and should have received approximately 14 marks.

'Deliberate and dishonest'

When the exam board told him a pupil's work needed to be submitted for moderation, "he noticed that Pupil A had not completed the relevant coursework, and decided to submit the work of Pupil B instead", the panel said.

The panel's report stated: "In a management interview which took place on 17 July 2019, Mr Laughton had provided context for his decision but stated 'there is no-one else to blame but me'."

The panel found he had engaged in "deliberate and dishonest conduct", and was satisfied that Mr Laughton was guilty of unacceptable professional conduct.

Mr Laughton can apply for the indefinite ban to be reviewed after a minimum of two years.