Five-year ban for Hockerill Anglo-European College teacher Lewis Fitchett who kissed 18-year-old student and wrote to her: ‘You sorta wiggled your way into a space in my heart… I have so much love for you’

A former Hockerill Anglo-European College teacher has been banned from schools for five years after he kissed a student and wrote her a six-page “emotional outpouring of his feelings”.

Lewis Fitchett, who will be 35 later this month, had been a staff member at the Bishop’s Stortford secondary for seven years at the time of the incident in May 2022.

A Teaching Regulation Agency (TRA) professional conduct panel heard evidence from Pupil A, who was 18 at the time and preparing to leave the Dunmow Road school.

She said that on May 26, 2022, Mr Fitchett messaged her on Instagram with a request that she visit him to say goodbye. They met at around 3.40pm and discussed her time at the school, her plans for the summer and her move to university.

She said Mr Fitchett teased that he would visit her often and “wreak havoc”.

Pupil A gave him a card to thank him for his support and, like other teachers, she said, he hugged her.

She said: “As I started to leave, he grabbed me by my left arm, pushed me against the wall, looked around and then leaned close to my face… I suspected what he was about to do and I said ‘No, you can’t do this’, but I was cut short as he put his fingers against my cheeks and pushed my face towards his. He kissed me for a very short period of time and then I pulled away immediately.”

The disciplinary panel was told Mr Fitchett and Pupil A developed a personal relationship in January 2022 after she confided in him.

By April of the same year, she said, he made her uncomfortable when he claimed he knew she had a “big crush” on him and that he had a “little crush” on her.

According to her evidence, Pupil A told him that “he cannot say things like that” and from that point she kept her distance.

On the night of the college prom (May 24) he asked her for her social media details and claimed teachers were permitted to stay in contact with pupils after they left school.

Two days later, she said, he used Instagram to summon her to a block, where he kissed her. After rushing away, Pupil A said she immediately called a friend and described what had happened.

Later Mr Fitchett messaged her, asking: “We opening cards yet!” When she replied asking why he had tried to kiss her, she said he responded and asked her to call, but she refused to do so. She then noticed several of her messages with Mr Fitchett, notably when she had confronted him about kissing her, had been deleted.

She challenged him, fearing he would fabricate a story about what happened, and showed him she had taken screenshots of the deleted messages. She then noticed he blocked her on Instagram.

In her evidence, Pupil A said she was worried about Mr Fitchett retaliating and trying to hurt her, so she tried to resolve the situation amicably.

On May 28 she messaged him for reassurance via WhatsApp. He viewed the message, she said, but did not reply so she sent a further message. He then responded, and she claimed he told her he had tried to “quit the college”.

The teacher and student then spoke on the phone two or three times, discussing what had happened, and agreed to go their separate ways, although she agreed to send a message to Mr Fitchett on his birthday to let him know how she was.

Pupil A stated that on June 8 she missed a call from him. When she replied, he told her the college knew about the incident and she would probably be contacted.

According to Pupil A, Mr Fitchett said: “I told them we kissed.” She was outraged that he had insinuated it was a consensual act.

In his witness statement, Mr Fitchett claimed Pupil A hugged him, and he put one arm loosely around her shoulders, as he was carrying various items. He stated that she then leaned in and tried to kiss him. He claimed he pushed her and took a step back. After the teenager left, he returned to his office to calm down. He later told a colleague and reported the encounter. He contended that the teenager had manipulated the messages between them.

Although Pupil A did not report the incident to the school, the panel noted her version of events had remained consistent and they had no reason to doubt the integrity of the messages, based on the evidence available.

In one exchange Pupil A said: “What on earth were you thinking when you kissed me?!” The report of the hearing says: “Rather than denying this, as would be expected if it was untrue, Mr Fitchett responded ‘I know I’m an idiot’.”

Furthermore, the panel saw a six-page letter that Mr Fitchett gave to Pupil A in a leaving card. The emotional outpouring included:

• “Here we are at the end of our first chapter… this is the beginning of something awesome!”

• “We were meant to meet each other, so thank you for coming into my life”

• “You sorta [sic] wiggled your way into a space in my heart… I have so much love for you.”

• “I want nothing but to be in your life for, I dunno [sic], let’s say forever!”

• “I’m sure you’ve been checking in on me regularly anyway when you’ve been missing me. Probably part of your bedtime routine I haven’t… heard about. Trying to play it cool. I like it.”

The panel’s report says: “While the letter could be interpreted as Mr Fitchett envisaging a friendship continuing with Pupil A, given that he kissed her shortly afterwards, a reasonable person would reach the conclusion that it was more probable than not he was acting in pursuit of a future sexual relationship in giving her the letter.”

Mr Fitchett admitted in his witness statement he regretted writing the letter and said he only wanted to express his best wishes.

He denied in the strongest possible terms that any behaviour was sexually motivated. He stated that at no time did he ever make any lewd or sexual comments or sexual advances towards Pupil A.

The panel considered statements praising his teaching and contribution to student life. It also took account of his expression of “deep regret for having made grave errors in judgement”.

He accepted that he was an adult in a position of trust and that, with hindsight, he recognised how his actions had had a profound adverse impact on the wellbeing of Pupil A.

During the second day of part one of the hearing in March this year, after the conclusion of the student’s evidence, Mr Fitchett’s representative said he had experienced health issues and was waiving his right to be present for the proceedings.

The case concluded in July and the panel found he had kissed or attempted to kiss Pupil A, exchanged communications of a personal nature and that this conduct was sexually motivated.

Members concluded: “Proven facts amount to unacceptable professional conduct and conduct that may bring the profession into disrepute.”

They recommended a two-year prohibition, but the Secretary of State for Education’s representative increased the tariff by three years.

Sarah Buxcey said: “Although the pupil was over 18 at the time of the kiss, in my view their vulnerability and the circumstances of a teacher using their position of trust to develop a relationship with them were important factors in reaching my decision on an appropriate and longer review period. I consider therefore that a five-year review period is required to satisfy the maintenance of public confidence in the profession.”

Mr Fitchett cannot teach in any school, sixth-form college, relevant youth accommodation or children’s home in England and cannot apply for the order to be set aside until July 17, 2029.

What a spokesperson for Hockerill Anglo-European College told the Indie

“We are aware of the Teaching Regulation Agency’s findings in relation to a former member of staff at the school. This member of staff left the college in 2022 after we were made aware of their unacceptable conduct.

“We are committed to providing a safe learning environment for all of our students and it is very upsetting for us to find a member of staff behaving in this way.

“We have respected the wishes of the student involved, and maintaining their privacy has been a priority for us, which is why we have not commented on this previously.

“The tribunal’s findings will hopefully help us all draw a line under this situation.”

The school suspended Mr Fitchett on June 10, 2022, after he disclosed the incident involving Pupil A on May 27.

He resigned on November 7, 2022, and the following day a disciplinary hearing was held. On February 2 this year, a rehearing took place following an appeal by Mr Fitchett and the teacher was referred to the TRA on February 28.