On one or more occasions, Mr Islam said he loved the pupil or words to that effect
A North London teacher has been banned from teaching after confessing his love to a pupil on Instagram. The maths teacher was investigated by the Teaching Regulation Authority after allegations that he had repeatedly told the 16-year-old pupil that he loved her.
Mr Rafiqul Islam, 34, a teacher at Friern Barnet School, North London, was handed a prohibition order without a review date after it was found that he had declared his love for a 16-year-old pupil. One of the messages that Islam sent to the pupil said: “I spent most of my Sunday in bed just thinking about the few days we have left.
“…I developed a crush on you. By the end of the school year, I have fallen in love with you.
“The world became meaningless to me without you, and I couldn’t stop thinking about you.
“It wasn’t the normal type of love, but the Edward Cullen type of love.
“School holidays were particularly painful as sometimes I would spend most of my day in bed just thinking about you.
“Despite how much I love my career, I would sacrifice it all if you want to be together.
“I love you (Pupil A) and I really hope we can be together, as this would make me the happiest man alive.”
He had previously referred to her as “cute.”
The day after he sent the message, the pupil reported him, leading him to resign the next day. The pupil told the school that she felt “physically sick, screamed and told her mother.”
During the school’s investigation, an undated letter was apparently sent to one of the panel’s witnesses, stating that it was “natural love” and that he “couldn’t hide my feelings as things were natural, my eyes always focused on her and lit up.”
Another witness in the panel’s investigation found that Mr Islam had said that the pupil was “cute”, yet he dismissed this as an “innocent comment” used to describe her personality.
The allegations of the social media messages, calling the pupil cute and saying he loved her, were all considered to be sexually motivated despite Mr Islam’s objections that they were not sexually motivated.
It said: “The panel noted that Mr Islam had demonstrated in his written documents and oral evidence a highly concerning lack of insight generally into the seriousness and wholly unacceptable nature of his actions.”
Mr Islam has been banned from teaching at schools, sixth form college, relevant youth accomodation or children’s home in England.
Stay in the loop with the latest North London news. Sign up to our MyNorthLondon newsletter HERE for daily updates and more.
