A maths teacher who snorted cocaine through rolled-up banknotes at a school Christmas party before boasting he could “always get money from dealing” has been banned from the classroom.
Rowan Barnicoat, who taught at Pool Academy in Cornwall, produced two bags of white powder from a suitcase and broke them up with a credit card before consuming them during a party in December 2023, a Teaching Regulation Agency (TRA) panel heard.
The 29-year-old reportedly told others throughout the evening that the powder was cocaine, and later told someone else: “I am never skint. I always have cash from dealing” in relation to covering the cost of a taxi on the night of the Christmas party.
The school told the BBC Mr Barnicoat’s conduct “fell well below the standards we expect of all staff and did not reflect the values of Pool Academy” and the welfare and safeguarding of students was its “highest priority.”
A panel found the 29-year-old had fallen “significantly short” of the standards expected of the profession and that it was likely that the white powder was cocaine.
It ruled it was more likely than not that Mr Barnicoat had been in possession of and had consumed the drug.
It found an allegation that he had tried to influence a witness’s account during the investigation was not proven.
Mr Barnicoat began teaching at the school in September 2022 and resigned in February 2024 during an investigation into his conduct.
In a report, the panel said the findings of misconduct are “particularly serious” because they concern “consumption of illegal substances which took place at a staff party, in the presence of colleagues”.
They also said Mr Barnicoat had refused to engage with the TRA panel and that the “lack of evidence of any insight or remorse means that there is some risk of the repetition of this behaviour, and this puts at risk the future wellbeing of pupils”.
He was handed a ban from teaching indefinitely, although will be allowed to apply for the prohibition order to be set aside in June 2031.
Pool Academy told the BBC that Mr Barnicoat’s conduct “fell well below the standards we expect of all staff and did not reflect the values of Pool Academy”.
They said: “As soon as the matter came to our attention we acted promptly and followed the appropriate procedures.
“The welfare and safeguarding of our students is, and always will be, our highest priority.”
The Independent has approached the school for comment.
