A former teacher at a private boarding school charging £56,000 in annual tuition has been prohibited from teaching indefinitely. The Teaching Regulation Agency (TRA) issued the ban after an investigation revealed that Thomas Ridgway did not inform his employer about his fiancé’s status as a registered sex offender.

According to the regulatory findings, Ridgway’s failure to disclose this information was deemed a serious breach of professional conduct. The school, which was not named in the initial reports, relies on staff to maintain rigorous safeguarding standards to protect students. By withholding the criminal history of a person with whom he was in a close relationship, Ridgway was found to have compromised the school's ability to conduct necessary risk assessments.

While the report confirms the ban, it does not detail whether Ridgway’s fiancé had direct contact with students or if the teacher’s omission was an oversight or a deliberate act of deception. The decision reflects the strict safeguarding protocols required in the UK education sector, where staff are mandated to report any associations that could potentially pose a risk to minors. Ridgway is now barred from teaching in any school, sixth-form college, or relevant youth accommodation in England.