Dwight School teacher Charles Richard Miles banned for smoking crystal meth, but says he only did it to ‘relax’

A teacher at one of London’s top private schools has been banned from the classroom after he admitted to smoking crystal meth “on the weekends”.

After police discovered evidence of Charles Richard Miles’s habit at his flat, he told his employer, the international Dwight School, that he only used the drug to “relax”.

He also claimed that he was “pretty controlled” with his use.

However, the school, which commands fees of £37,500 a year, reported the 64-year-old to the Teaching Regulation Agency because of serious “concerns regarding Mr Miles’ presentation, wellbeing and professional functioning”.

The veteran primary school teacher, who had been with his employer for 40 years, has now been banned from the profession.

Mr Miles had worked as an English as an additional language and learning support teacher at the Dwight School in London since 1985.

The school claims to be “the best International Baccalaureate in North London”. It is part of the Dwight global family of schools, which have presences in New York, Dubai, Hanoi, Shanghai, and Seoul.

The annual fees can be as much as £37,500 for sixth form students, but the school teaches children from as young as nursery age.

In November 2024, police went to Mr Miles’s Hackney home after he reported concerns about “water bulging” in his flat.

While there, the police noted that it “became clear that he smokes crystal meth” and referred to Mr Miles being “impacted by ongoing class A drug use”, according to a recent decision by a panel of the agency.

It said that his drug use was “ongoing” and that it had also “taken place before that date”.

The police reported Mr Miles’s drug use to the school.

There was an “informal capability meeting” between him and the school in January 2025, during which he said he took meth to “relax” and that he was “pretty controlled”.

He said: “[The police are] concerned about that crystal meth use, but as I am trying to explain, I am not addicted to it.”

He said that he regarded his substance use to be “private”.

However, his admissions “indicated repeated, rather than isolated, consumption”, the panel’s decision said.

On 18 April 2025, Mr Miles sent text messages indicating that he intended to retire from teaching at the end of the school year.

He was referred to the Teaching Regulation Agency in June.

The panel, chaired by Shabana Robertson, said that Mr Miles’s drug use occurred outside school premises and outside working hours.

“However… the panel concluded that the conduct could not properly be viewed in isolation from its impact upon Mr Miles’ professional role,” the decision said.

“The evidence demonstrated concerns regarding Mr Miles’ presentation, wellbeing and professional functioning whilst at work.

“The panel concluded that his conduct as proven had a direct bearing upon his professional role and his ability to discharge his responsibilities as a teacher.”

The decision continued: “The evidence before the panel demonstrated a clear connection between Mr Miles’ drug use and concerns regarding his fitness to teach and safeguard pupils.

“Therefore, the panel was satisfied the findings of misconduct were serious, and the conduct displayed would be likely to have a negative impact on Mr Miles’s status as a teacher.

“The panel finds that the conduct of Mr Miles fell significantly short of the standards expected of the profession.

“Mr Charles Richard Miles is prohibited from teaching indefinitely and cannot teach in any school, sixth form college, relevant youth accommodation or children’s home in England.”

He will be able to have his ban reviewed in five years time.