A married maths teacher infatuated with a teenage pupil is set to be banned from the profession after asking her to be his girlfriend.

Wayne Howe, who is 62 and worked at Archbishop's School in Canterbury, "loved the pupil the moment he saw her" and claimed she was "perfect" in every way.

But despite his inappropriate fascination with her, he denies ever intending to ask her out and blames a "covert stammer" which resulted in him accidentally saying the word "girlfriend".

Mr Howe says he only meant to say "friend" when he spoke with the pupil in private in 2019.

A two-day virtual misconduct hearing held last week saw the Teaching Regulation Agency examine Mr Howe's inappropriate behaviour.

He was found guilty of unacceptable professional misconduct, with the panel recommending to the Secretary of State he now be banned from teaching.

The hearing heard how Mr Howe told the student – who was referred to as Pupil A to protect her anonymity – that he "really liked her" and declared how he wanted her to be his girlfriend once she completed school.

"He told me 'she is perfect and I loved her the moment I saw her, I wanted her to be my girlfriend'."

The shocked pupil asked if he was joking, to which Mr Howe said "no" and went on to explain how his marriage was unstable.

Pupil A stood up to leave but Mr Howe "asked her to stay so that it did not look weird" and told her not to report him as knew he would get fired.

The incident was reported that day and deputy head teacher Robert Davies, who has since left the school in St Stephen's Hill, spoke with Mr Howe that morning about his actions.

Recalling the phone conversation, Mr Davies said: "He had left the site and was in his car.

"He was incredibly distressed. His state of mind was one where I was genuinely worried for his wellbeing.

"We discussed what had happened and we spoke about the pupil.

"He told me 'she is perfect and I loved her the moment I saw her, I wanted her to be my girlfriend'.

"He wanted her to know that he would leave his wife."

Mr Howe did not attend the misconduct hearing, so his version of events was read to the panel by presenting officer Michael O'Donohoe.

Referring to the incident, he said: "Mr Howe was asking Pupil A to stay in contact with him as friends after finishing school.

"However, as a result of a covert stammer he states that he inadvertently put the word 'girl' in front of 'friend' and everything he tried to say came out wrong."

In his written statement, Mr Howe also denied asking Pupil A not to report him and says he was just "muttering under his breath that he was going to get fired".

He defended himself by stating that "telling someone you like them isn't a safeguarding issue".

The panel did not accept Mr Howe's defence and found him guilty of unacceptable professional misconduct.

The Secretary of State will decide any sanction.

"We hope that this decision by the Teaching Regulation Authority will enable closure for all those involved.”

Two months before the incident, Mr Howe sent emails to Pupil A's mother offering the chance to give her daughter free maths tutoring lessons at her home.

He had looked up her address on the school's register – and despite being told by the mother that Pupil A did not require further lessons, he sent further emails enquiring.

Mr Howe was arrested three months after the incident but KentOnline understands no charges were ever brought.

Archbishop's say Mr Howe was immediately suspended following the complaint being raised by Pupil A and never returned to the school site.

He was dismissed in October 2019.

A spokesman added: "The safety and wellbeing of the young people who attend our school is our highest priority and we have robust safeguarding procedures.

"As a school we are student-centred and constantly strive to deliver the best for all our young people.

"This means that our safeguarding practices and policies are regularly reviewed and safeguarding training for all staff is regularly refreshed and updated.

"We hope that this decision by the Teaching Regulation Authority will enable closure for all those involved.”

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