Sam Piggott, a former assistant principal at North Shore Academy in Stockton, has been banned from teaching indefinitely after a Teaching Regulation Agency (TRA) panel found him guilty of 14 allegations of unacceptable professional conduct, 11 of which were sexual in nature. The panel described a "repeated pattern of wholly inappropriate conduct" towards his colleagues, frequently in the presence of pupils.
Details of the misconduct
The 33-year-old made deeply inappropriate comments between June 2024 and March 2025, including "one day I will f*** you", "just imagine they are a s*** at the bar", and "it is like juggling two women", according to a 34-page decision outcome published following a TRA hearing. Some of the comments were made in earshot of pupils.
Mr Piggott was suspended by the school in March 2025, with the matter referred to the TRA just weeks later. He has since been banned from teaching indefinitely and cannot apply to have the prohibition lifted for two years.
Specific incidents and allegations
Among the proven allegations was an incident in which a colleague left him a gift after he covered her lesson, to which he responded by suggesting he hoped it was a sex act. He returned and said he was only joking. The woman explained she wasn't personally affected by the remark so hadn't reported her concerns, noting Mr Piggott "had a tendency to make many sexual jokes and inappropriate comments".
A further upheld allegation detailed how Piggott made a remark, within earshot of pupils, declaring "I've got a big one". He insisted the comment had been misinterpreted. Another staff member described feeling disgusted, objectified and embarrassed when he said to her, within hearing distance of year 8 girls, "sorry miss, I've just nearly put my sausage into you there". The panel was told he was carrying sausages and mash and made the remark after they nearly collided.
In March 2025, Mr Piggott told pupils he wanted an energy drink and one student asked why he liked them so much. Mr Piggott replied he would have two of them at the same time, stating with a smirk and hand gesture: "It is like juggling two women." He then went on to describe the drink's taste, remarking: "I like how it drips down your throat." The witness described being extremely shocked and uncomfortable, saying pupils were "taken aback by both comments" and responded with "ughh" and "sir you cannot say that".
Panel findings and outcome
Months earlier, at the school Christmas party, Mr Piggott stood with a female teacher and said "I'm going to f*** you one day" to which she replied "no you are not Sam". Another person who witnessed the exchange informed the investigatory meeting that the assistant principal responded with "I am trust me". The witness stated: "He just couldn't take no for an answer". Mr Piggott claimed he had no recollection of making such a remark and noted it supposedly occurred during a Christmas night out where people had been drinking alcohol.
In a separate incident, he told a male colleague, who said they were nervous about being interviewed by an inspector, to "just imagine they are a s*** at the bar". Mr Piggott, who did not attend the hearing, stated in his written submission that the remark was taken out of context and he did not believe either colleagues were offended at the time, though he acknowledged his language was "inappropriate and derogatory".
In a further allegation, another witness reported that while discussing which pub to go to, Mr Piggott remarked: "I cannot be trusted around drunk children". Piggott dismissed the allegation as "false and vexatious". The panel stated: "Mr Piggott submitted that his colleague had said, 'I think some of the kids are drunk', to which he replied, 'well, in that case I think it's time for me to go home.' He stated that his colleague had tried to turn this into a 'sick inuendo', and that he had laughed it off, as this was his colleague's sort of humour." Despite his explanation, the panel found the allegation proven.
Mr Piggott submitted that "any conversations he had ever had with colleagues that could have been classed as inappropriate had been mutual and that those colleagues had either at that time, or at another time, responded in a like manner". He said he dedicated himself to the school for seven years, having started as a teaching assistant and worked his way up to assistant principal, which he felt may have "rubbed a few of his colleagues up the wrong way". While Mr Piggott acknowledged he may have misjudged certain situations and made remarks that could be deemed inappropriate, he insisted he never intentionally wanted to upset anyone or cause them discomfort. He maintained the school "had a culture where staff spoke inappropriately to one another and that innuendos amongst staff were 'commonplace'".
The panel said it could make no definitive judgement on the culture at the school, but noted that a large number of teacher witnesses evidenced that they were shocked and such behaviour was not commonplace. The panel described Mr Piggott's remarks as objectifying, misogynistic and unacceptable. The outcome states that the findings against Mr Piggott "involved a repeated pattern of wholly inappropriate conduct towards his colleagues, frequently in the presence of pupils".
While Mr Piggott was deemed "incredibly remorseful" by the panel, and a number of witnesses were positive about his abilities as a teacher, the panel noted he seemed to fail to appreciate that his conduct towards female staff was "manifestly inappropriate". Significant factors in recommending a prohibition order to the Secretary of State included the sexual nature of his inappropriate conduct, "seemingly displaying a deep-seated and wholly inappropriate attitude towards women", along with the fact that he made a "number of sexist and misogynistic comments in front of the children to whom he was supposed to be a role model".
On October 15, Mr Piggott was prohibited from teaching in any school, sixth form college, relevant youth accommodation or children's home in England. The order was made indefinitely, and he cannot apply for it to be set aside until October 19, 2028, at the earliest.
A spokesperson for Northern Education Trust, which runs the school, said: "As soon as the serious allegations against Mr Piggott were raised, the academy immediately followed the trust's established procedures to investigate the matter. The trust takes concerns of this nature very seriously and appropriate support was offered to those impacted. Mr Piggott was dismissed from the trust at the conclusion of the investigation, and the matter was referred to the Teaching Regulation Agency. The trust is satisfied that the matter was managed robustly and in accordance with all internal procedures."
