Female music teacher at £37,000-a-year boarding school clashed with pupil in her car before telling them: ‘You could get me in a lot of trouble’

A female music teacher at a boarding school had sex with a student at her home and performed a sex act on them in her car, a teacher misconduct panel heard.

Michelle Parry, now 42, also sent sexually explicit nude photos of herself to the student.

She has been banned from teaching after numerous allegations emerged from two former students.

It all came to light when the former students, who remain anonymous, met years later in 2021 and discussed their experiences with Parry.

The pair referred to the Teaching Regulation Agency (TRA) conduct panel in January 2022 and after reviewing the evidence, the panel found Parry guilty of unacceptable professional conduct and she was suspended.

Parry, who taught at the £37,000-a-year Culford School in Bury St Edmonds, was employed at Hadleigh High School from 2005 to 2010, and at the university’s Suffolk One Sixth from 2010-2011.

At the time of the incidents, which occurred more than a decade ago, known as Michelle Rande, she was said to have had an ongoing sexual relationship with one of the students.

During the hearing, which was held virtually from November 29 to December 1, Parry was not present or represented.

The panel heard that between 2009 and 2012 she failed to maintain professional boundaries with Person A by inviting them to her home on many occasions for social events and parties, where alcohol was consumed.

Parry also presented them with gifts, which became larger and more expensive, paying for meals and drinks and, on one occasion, for a hotel on a trip not related to a school musical event.

During private lessons, the teacher kissed Person A in April 2010 after talking about personal matters and touching them in a ‘prolonged’ manner.

The panel was told Parry sent text and social media messages to Person A that were initially flirty but became more sexually explicit, including nude photos and romantic messages.

Between April 2010 and March 2012, Parry had a sexual relationship with Person A, and between April 2010 and July 2010, Parry performed a sexual act with the student in her car.

The teacher and student had sex for several months at her home, and at other locations when they stayed away from each other.

The hearing was told that after the relationship ended, Parry asked Person A to delete all messages between them, saying: ‘You could get me into a lot of trouble.

“You can end my life and my career at any time. I changed everything about my life so I could be with you and now I have nothing.”

Person A said he felt trapped and controlled by the situation.

It was also alleged that she failed to maintain professional boundaries with another student, Person B, between 2009 and 2011.

The panel heard how Parry invited Person B to her home, gave him alcohol and gifts, chatted about personal matters and sent all-too-familiar text messages or social media messages.

Person B said he felt unsure about whether the interaction was with a friend or with a teacher.

Evidence was received at the hearing from both Person A and Person B whose individual accounts, including screenshots of messages using a now-deleted Facebook account said to be Parry’s, corroborated each other.

The panel found that the allegations of failing to maintain appropriate professional boundaries with Person A were fully proven and that it was ‘more likely than not’ that the sexual relationship occurred, and therefore ruled that these allegations were proven.

Allegations of not respecting proper professional boundaries with Person B were also fully proven.

Based on the evidence, the panel found that Parry had engaged in unacceptable professional conduct and that her actions constituted conduct likely to bring the profession into disrepute.

They said the findings were “particularly serious” because they also included sexually motivated misconduct.

The panel also heard that she had been warned several times about her behavior with students, contact on social media and end-of-year parties at her home.

The panel said: ‘The public expects teachers not to abuse the trust placed in them to exploit relationships with students for their own personal benefit.’

Parry was banned from teaching indefinitely and due to the seriousness of the allegations proven against her, she cannot apply to have her fitness to teach reinstated.

It was also alleged that Parry sent a message to Person A and Person B on April 6, 2022, when she should have known that a referral had been made to the TRA and that it would be inappropriate to contact them.

The message read: ‘I’m more sorry than you will ever know for the way I behaved.

“I could give you a list of all the reasons why I behaved the way I did, but that could be seen as an excuse.

“Know that I have regretted every day of my life since then and that I will never forgive myself. You deserved better.’

Parry had been informed of the TRA’s referral that same day and although the panel felt that the messages were potentially misleading, in the absence of advice not to contact potential witnesses, they found that they were no longer then Parry expressing her regret. and said it was not inappropriate contact.