A 62-year-old maths teacher who asked a pupil to be his girlfriend has been banned from the profession for good.

Wayne Howe, who taught at Archbishop's School in Canterbury, can no longer work at any school, sixth form or children’s home in the country.

He has been struck off by the Secretary of State for his unacceptable professional misconduct which was found to be sexually motivated.

The Department for Education has also decided that he will not be entitled to have the sanction reviewed in future years - meaning his ban is indefinite.

Mr Howe's conduct was examined by the Teaching Regulation Agency two weeks ago, in relation to an incident back in 2019.

He was infatuated with a teenage pupil at Archbishop's and said how he "loved her the moment he saw her".

He declared how he wanted the "perfect" pupil to be his girlfriend once she completed school and explained to her how his marriage was unstable.

Mr Howe blamed a "covert stammer" which resulted in him accidentally saying the word "girlfriend" when he meant to just say "friend".

But his defence was rejected by the panel and they found him guilty of misconduct.

Mr Howe was found guilty of sexually motivated conduct, to have failed to maintain appropriate professional boundaries - and been proven to show a lack of integrity.

With the panel's recommendation to issue a teaching ban, the Secretary of State has now agreed with the findings and issued a prohibition order.

It states: "Mr Howe fell significantly short of the standards expected of the profession.

'Mr Howe shall not be entitled to apply for restoration of his eligibility to teach...'

"Mr Howe is prohibited from teaching indefinitely and cannot teach in any school, sixth form college, relevant youth accommodation or children’s home in England.

"Furthermore, in view of the seriousness of the allegations found proved against him, I have decided that Mr Howe shall not be entitled to apply for restoration of his eligibility to teach.

"I am particularly mindful of the finding of sexual motivation in this case and the impact that such a finding has on the reputation of the profession.

"I have had to consider that the public has a high expectation of professional standards of all teachers and that the public might regard a failure to impose a prohibition order as a failure to uphold those high standards."

It is hoped the ban will help "maintain public confidence in the profession".

As well asking the pupil to be his girlfriend, Mr Howe sent unsolicited emails to her mother offering home tutoring classes. He had looked up the home address on the school's register.

He was suspended from Archbishop's immediately after his actions came to light and was sacked in October 2019

Now, he has been banned from teaching anywhere in the country.

The order was made on behalf of the Secretary of State by decision-maker Sarah Buxcey.

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