A TEACHER who was caught in a clinch with a cleaner and allowed pupils to take blowtorches home has been banned from the classroom for almost a year.

The General Teaching Council’s professional conduct committee suspended Simeon Evans for 11 months after finding him “guilty of unacceptable professional conduct” when he was employed at John Mason School in Wootton Road, Abingdon, in December 2008 to teach ICT and business studies.

The council said Evans, who has more than 20 years’ teaching experience, “behaved in an inappropriate manner with a member of the school cleaning staff on school premises on December 5 and December 11, 2008”, and “jeopardised the health and safety of students both in a workshop and outside the school on December 18, 2008”.

Mr Evans was dismissed by the school shortly afterwards and the council was then alerted.

A statement issued by the conduct committee, following a hearing on September 23, said: “Mr Evans admits that he is guilty of unacceptable professional conduct.”