An English teacher who hid gin in her water bottle and drank it during a lesson has been banned from the profession for two years. Annika Kapur, 30, was teaching at Djanogly City Academy in Nottingham when she began slurring her words and swaying unsteadily in January 2025.
Kapur told a colleague that 'this class terrifies me' and claimed she was holding a bottle of a non-alcoholic drink. However, an investigation revealed she had a half-filled water bottle containing gin and lemon left over from her birthday weekend. She said she only realised it contained alcohol when she drank from it at the end of the day and could not spit it out because pupils were present.
A staff member reported that Kapur had pulled a student up by his hair when his head was on the desk. He said she was gesticulating and swaying, and speaking in an out-of-character manner. When asked to speak outside the classroom, she began to retch and was sick in the staff toilet. Colleagues did not smell alcohol on her breath, and Kapur said she was just 'a bit tired'.
Kapur admitted unacceptable professional conduct, including bringing alcohol onto school premises, drinking it, and being drunk during school hours, putting pupils at risk. The Teaching Regulation Agency misconduct panel noted she drank a third of the bottle knowing it tasted of alcohol and chose to stay in the classroom. She has been banned from teaching for two years.
