Teacher Receives Lifetime Ban for Exchanging Thousands of Inappropriate Emails with Schoolgirl
A science teacher who exchanged more than 2,000 flirty emails with a 15-year-old schoolgirl, including fantasies about meeting in a sauna, has been banned from the classroom for life. Alex Mohammed, 35, formerly the co-director of science at Durrington High School in Worthing, West Sussex, engaged in this misconduct despite prior warnings about his overly friendly behaviour with students.
Pattern of Inappropriate Conduct and Failed Safeguarding
Mohammed was initially cautioned in January 2022 for being too informal with groups of Year 11 girls who gathered in his classroom outside teaching hours. He received another warning for the same issue in May 2022. Colleagues also raised concerns about his conduct around the same group of students at the school leavers' ball on June 30.
Instead of heeding these warnings, Mohammed secretly sent thousands of inappropriate emails and photos to multiple girls during evenings and weekends. A professional conduct panel found that very few of the over 2,000 emails exchanged with one pupil, referred to as Pupil A, between April 7 and May 13, 2022, could be considered professional.
Explicit and Suggestive Communications Uncovered
The panel determined that Mohammed's messages to Pupil A were suggestive of sexual grooming. Among the inappropriate exchanges were:
- A conversation speculating about what might happen if they encountered each other in a sauna.
- Informal discussions about the underage girl consuming alcohol.
- A photograph sent by Mohammed showing himself in bed at approximately 6:45 PM on May 11, to which Pupil A responded with a picture of herself wearing a dressing gown.
- Repeated compliments on the 15-year-old's appearance, including comments that she looked good and had cute hair.
- Late-night messages, such as one sent at 12:37 AM asking, You gone to sleep yet?
- Statements like I'm glad you aren't with him any more lol, referencing Pupil A's ex-boyfriend.
- Complaints that she was never nice actually about me... not physically me anyways, and requests not to be sarcastic about my figure.
Mohammed also urged the pupil to wait until the summer till we waffle and we both be bad! indicating plans for future inappropriate interactions.
Systemic Failure to Report Safeguarding Concerns
The panel further found that Mohammed failed to report safeguarding concerns regarding five schoolgirls. Messages from these girls referenced struggles or feeling down at home, but instead of following proper protocols, Mohammed replied in overly friendly terms. This neglect of his professional duty compounded the severity of his misconduct.
Investigation and Consequences
Durrington High School launched an investigation after discovering the evidence, which involved interviewing pupils and examining Mohammed's school email account. The school uncovered the extensive cache of inappropriate messages and reported them to the police. Although law enforcement reviewed the evidence, they decided not to initiate criminal proceedings.
By December 2022, with no criminal case pending, the school resumed its internal investigation. During this process, Mohammed acknowledged that the timing and content of some emails were inappropriate. However, he disputed the allegation that his correspondence with Pupil A was sexually motivated.
The panel rejected this defence, considering the volume of messages and their explicit nature, including discussions about being in bed. They concluded the communications were indeed sexually motivated and recommended a lifetime teaching ban to the Home Secretary, which has now been enforced.
This case highlights critical failures in safeguarding within educational settings and underscores the severe consequences for educators who breach professional boundaries with students.
