Drunk teacher who fell over in school pool banned

A drunk swimming teacher who repeatedly fell over in the school pool after swigging wine from a bottle has been banned from teaching.

Liam Knight, 30, "slurred his words, had bloodshot eyes and couldn't focus or remain orientated" while in the water with a class of young pupils at Drayton Junior School near Norwich, a Teaching Regulation Agency panel heard.

A bottle of rose wine, which the teacher had bought during his lunch break, was later found in the staff toilets, the tribunal was told.

The panel concluded Mr Knight was guilty of misconduct and banned him from the teaching profession, with a review period of two years.

The swimming teacher said he probably consumed the wine in a nearby park.

A month after starting the job in September 2023, Mr Knight had brought the alcohol with him to the school and was also taking medication which he had failed to tell managers about, the panel heard.

One or both of the medications was "causing him to suffer drowsiness", the tribunal heard.

Mr Knight accepted he had taken a dose of his medication before his swimming lesson and had also been drinking wine.

He "could not recall the specifics of his drinking", but said he "probably would have consumed the wine directly from the wine bottle", the panel was told.

By the time he started his lesson, he was "unsteady on his feet, struggling to speak articulately and unable to focus or remain orientated," the tribunal heard.

"There was evidence that Mr Knight had run the swimming lesson in a different way on this occasion as he had failed to take a headcount or do a register and that his general mannerisms were different," the panel said.

The swimming teacher admitted he was "not in a fit state" to be responsible for his class or to be in the pool.

It was concluded: "In this case, the panel has found all of the allegations proven and found that those proven facts amount to unacceptable professional conduct.

"The conduct of Mr Knight fell significantly short of the standards expected."

Mr Knight can apply to have the prohibition order lifted after 29 January 2027.

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