Latest news with #KarlSmith
The Independent
19-07-2025
- The Independent
Teacher banned after telling pupil he was glad it was non-uniform day so he could see how beautiful she was
A teacher has been banned indefinitely after telling a female student it was 'good it was a non-school uniform day' as people could see how 'beautiful' she was. Karl Smith, who was head of computing at The Warriner School in Banbury, was also found to have privately messaged another pupil outside of school. He had also given her his personal contact details like his WhatsApp number, despite knowing she was vulnerable. Several of these messages were sent outside of term time and late into the evening past 11pm, and included him discussing the difficulties he was having at school. In one message, he told a student, only named as Pupil B, that he had kept chocolate behind for her, telling her: 'Begging for food and fluttering your eyelashes isn't really earning them.' He went on to say: 'You are very nice though, so that works in your favour.... Maybe I'm just a sucker for a pretty face.' He was also found to have hugged another pupil in a separate incident. Concerns were first raised by a pupil about Mr Smith in November 2022, and he was suspended after the school launched an investigation and referred the case to the Teaching Regulation Agency (TRA). With regards to Pupil B, Mr Smith told the panel: 'I cannot recall the exact events that led to me giving her my personal email address, but I recall it was because I needed to vent about the school policy and I did not want to do so over the school email system.' After she approached him in November 2022 to say that he could get in trouble for the messages, he told her to delete their conversations. Another student told the school investigation that she had found his comment 'creepy' after he called her 'beautiful' and that it had felt like 'more than a normal compliment to come from a teacher'. The TRA panel's judgement found that Mr Smith's actions "had many of the hallmarks of someone in the early stages of pursuing inappropriate sexual relationships with pupils". He has now been banned from teaching indefinitely, with the judgement reading: "The panel considered Mr Smith's conduct was not minor in nature, or a mere temporary lapse. It was a sustained course of action." Due to the seriousness of his behaviour, he will not be entitled to apply for the restoration of his eligibility to teach, the panel said. The former teacher, in a statement to the panel, said: "Even though I was not in my right mind at the time, it was still wrong and should never have happened." "I deeply regret my part in all of this, not just because it has destroyed me mentally, but because of the impact that my actions have had on the young people affected."
BBC News
18-07-2025
- BBC News
Oxfordshire teacher banned for sexually inappropriate behaviour
A teacher has been indefinitely banned from the profession, after his behaviour was judged to be that of someone "in the early stages of pursuing inappropriate sexual relationships with pupils".Karl Smith had been head of computing at The Warriner School, in Bloxham, when the inappropriate behaviour took place.A Teaching Regulation Agency (TRA) panel found Mr Smith privately messaged a female student outside of school, whilst also hugging her and another student during separate was also found that the former teacher had told another female student that it was "good it's non-school uniform-day" as people could "see how beautiful you really are". Concerns were first raised by a pupil about Mr Smith in November 2022, with the school launching an investigation and suspending the teacher - before referring the case to the TRA.A TRA panel found Mr Smith had established a private messaging channel and shared his personal contact details with a female pupil he knew to be the messages, the then-teacher referenced his "dashing good looks", said he was "pretty damn lonely", and told the pupil: "Maybe I'm just a sucker for a pretty face."He later told the student to delete the messages exchanged between the pair. Mr Smith was also found to have called a pupil "beautiful" in a separate incident - which the student told the school investigation had been "creepy and more than a normal compliment to come from a teacher".The TRA panel's judgement found that Mr Smith's actions "had many of the hallmarks of someone in the early stages of pursuing inappropriate sexual relationships with pupils".In prohibiting him from teaching in England, the judgement said: "The panel considered Mr Smith's conduct was not minor in nature, or a mere temporary lapse. It was a sustained course of action."The former-teacher, in a statement to the panel, said: "Even though I was not in my right mind at the time, it was still wrong and should never had happened." "I deeply regret my part in all of this, not just because it has destroyed me mentally, but because of the impact that my actions have had on the young people affected."In a statement, The Warriner School said it "takes all safeguarding extremely seriously, with the safety of our students our priority"."As soon as this was brought to our attention, we took swift action, seeking and following the advice of the Local Authority Designated Officer for Safeguarding and the police," the school said, adding that it had engaged with the TRA process "throughout". You can follow BBC Oxfordshire on Facebook, X (Twitter), or Instagram.
Yahoo
05-07-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Fortis Canada Games Complex opens it doors ahead of summer event
Local athletes will have the chance to test out the facilities they will soon compete in during the 2025 Canada Games in St. John's. Friday marked the grand opening of the Fortis Canada Games Complex on Lambe's Lane near Memorial University. The $34-million facility is home to a 400-metre, eight-lane track, FIFA quality soccer turf and an indoor training facility for the development of amateur level sport. Kim Keating, co-chair of the Canada Summer Games host society, said Newfoundland and Labrador is well prepared to host "the best Canada Games ever." "We have the largest number of athletes of any Canada Games coming," Keating told reporters on Friday.. "I think we're over 2,000 [athletes] for week one, and 2,000 [athletes] for week two." In addition to the athletes, a rough estimate of 20,000 to 25,000 people will show up for the event, said co-chair Karl Smith. "There's no rental cars available and no rooms available, so I guess that's as good as it gets," Smith said. Fortis donated $1 million for the facility. The company's vice-president of operations and technology Gary Smith told reporters the donation aligns with Fortis' values. "We're so happy to see the athletes out there. That's really what it's all about, is the young people across Canada who are going to come here and show what they did," Smith said. "They will grow into the future leaders of Canada." WATCH | New facility celebrates grand opening: Beyond the Canada Games, Premier John Hogan said the facility will continue to be used for year-round training opportunities for provincial track and field athletes, soccer and other sports. "My kids, my grandkids, people from all across the province will benefit from all the effort that's gone into building this infrastructure," Hogan said Friday. "Not just for the two weeks of the Canada Games, but for years and decades to come." The Canada Summer Games start on Aug. 8 in St. John's. Download our free CBC News app to sign up for push alerts for CBC Newfoundland and Labrador. Sign up for our daily headlines newsletter here. Click here to visit our landing page.
CBC
05-07-2025
- Sport
- CBC
Fortis Canada Games Complex opens it doors ahead of summer event
Local athletes will have the chance to test out the facilities they will soon compete in during the 2025 Canada Games in St. John's. Friday marked the grand opening of the Fortis Canada Games Complex on Lambe's Lane near Memorial University. The $34-million facility is home to a 400-metre, eight-lane track, FIFA quality soccer turf and an indoor training facility for the development of amateur level sport. Kim Keating, co-chair of the Canada Summer Games host society, said Newfoundland and Labrador is well prepared to host "the best Canada Games ever." "We have the largest number of athletes of any Canada Games coming," Keating told reporters on Friday.. "I think we're over 2,000 [athletes] for week one, and 2,000 [athletes] for week two." In addition to the athletes, a rough estimate of 20,000 to 25,000 people will show up for the event, said co-chair Karl Smith. "There's no rental cars available and no rooms available, so I guess that's as good as it gets," Smith said. Fortis donated $1 million for the facility. The company's vice-president of operations and technology Gary Smith told reporters the donation aligns with Fortis' values. "We're so happy to see the athletes out there. That's really what it's all about, is the young people across Canada who are going to come here and show what they did," Smith said. "They will grow into the future leaders of Canada." WATCH | New facility celebrates grand opening: Fortis Canada Games Complex officially opens in St. John's 9 hours ago Duration 1:39 The Canada Games starts in August, and as the CBC's Jenna Head reports, some long-anticipated facilities are starting to open their doors for the first time. Beyond the Canada Games, Premier John Hogan said the facility will continue to be used for year-round training opportunities for provincial track and field athletes, soccer and other sports. "My kids, my grandkids, people from all across the province will benefit from all the effort that's gone into building this infrastructure," Hogan said Friday. "Not just for the two weeks of the Canada Games, but for years and decades to come." The Canada Summer Games start on Aug. 8 in St. John's.
Yahoo
27-02-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Potholes keep popping up across CNY
DEWITT, N.Y. (WSYR-TV) — As the snow keeps melting, the potholes keep popping up. 'Now, we start to see what happened to our roads over the winter. We are definitely starting to get phone calls and see the pick up now,' said Karl Smith, full-service area manager of operations for Dunn Tire. Keeping business booming for body shops, like Dunn Tire in DeWitt. 'People are starting to hear stuff in their car, and when they are changing from winter tires to all-season tires, we see a lot of that also,' said Smith. Smith says some of the biggest problems they see are damaged tires and issues with steering and suspension. 'The two biggest things are probably the steering and the suspension of the vehicle. As soon as you hit a big pothole or a curb, sometimes you'll feel the car pull or hear a noise, and the other one is an impact damage to the tires. An impact damage is when they hit a pothole and you get like an egg or a softball size bubble on the tire, and that is something they can easily notice,' said Smith. Smith says many times, drivers don't even notice the damage until days later. 'Sometimes, the vehicle will pull to a certain side, if it hasn't before. All of a sudden when you let go of the steering wheel a little pull to either the right or left that is something and also you'll kind of hear that noise. It's like a mild clunk,' said Smith. Smith also says it doesn't matter if the pothole is big or small, it can do plenty of damage. 'A common misconception is that my car is going straight down the road, so the alignment is fine. But it really can be off just a little bit, and that will really affect your tire wear and your tires will wear much sooner than they would've before,' said Smith. If you happen to get your rims rocked by a pesky pothole, it's better to be safe than sorry. 'It's much better to get your vehicle checked out sooner, rather than later, because you could go from a low-cost repair to something much more costly if you let it wait,' Smith said. If you happen to spot a pothole in Syracuse, the city welcomes you to report it here. Construction on the aquarium is swimming along, but funds are running dry Troubles loom for Johnson on Trump budget bill 3.2 million people get boosted Social Security: Who qualifies for retroactive payments? Potholes keep popping up across CNY How an Iowa team in overalls made the Softball Hall of Fame Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
