A MUSIC teacher who had sex with a student at her home and in her car before sending her nude photos has been fired from her job.
Michelle Parry, now 42, known at the time as Michelle Rande, was banned from teaching after having sex with a student for two years.
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Michelle Rande, as she was then known, was filmed in 2010 at the age of 28 when she won first prize in a singing talent competition Credit: SWNS
The relationship began with her having oral sex with the pupil, known as ‘Person A’, in her car over three months between April and July 2010, a Teaching Regulation Agency panel heard.
Their sexual relationship lasted until March 2012.
Ms Parry previously worked at Hadleigh High School from 2005 to 2010, and at Suffolk One Sixth Form College between 2010 and 2011.
Then, between 2018 and 2022, she worked as a part-time music teacher at the £37,000-a-year Culford School in Bury St Edmonds.
None of the incidents occurred while she was employed at Culford and did not involve any students there.
Between 2009 and 2012, she invited Student A to her home, showered them with gifts and sent inappropriate messages and pictures, the panel heard.
On one occasion, she paid for a hotel on a trip unrelated to a school musical event.
During private lessons, the teacher kissed Person A in April 2010 after discussing personal matters and touching in a “prolonged” manner.
During the same period, she allegedly had an inappropriate relationship with another student, Person B.
They were also invited to her home, provided with alcohol and the pair spoke in person.
The commission said the allegations of failure to maintain appropriate professional boundaries with Person A were fully substantiated.
It added that “more likely than not” sexual intercourse took place.
Allegations of failure to maintain appropriate professional boundaries with person B have also been proven.
When the relationship with Person A ended, Ms Parry asked them to delete all messages between them, adding “you could get me in big trouble” and “you could end my life and my career at any time”.
Person A said they felt trapped and controlled and Person B said they were confused whether they were talking to a friend or a teacher.
The two former students, who had not kept in touch after school, got together in June 2021 to talk about what had happened.
They then decided to submit a referral to the TRA on January 29, 2022.
Ms Parry was accused of inappropriate contact on April 6, 2022, when she sent a message to both of them saying: “I am more sorry than you will ever know for the way I behaved.
“I could give you a list of all the reasons that led me to behave in such a way, but that could be taken as an excuse.
“Know that I’ve been sorry every day of my life since then and I’ll never forgive myself for it. You deserved better.”
That day she heard about the referral.
The committee decided the messages were wrong but, by way of apology, not inappropriate.
At the hearing, which was held virtually from November 29 to December 1, persons A and B testified.
Their accounts included screenshots of messages with a now-deleted Facebook account allegedly belonging to Ms Parry.
The committee also heard that the teacher was warned about her behavior with students, social media contacts and end-of-year student parties she hosted at her home.
The committee was convinced that Ms Parry was guilty of unacceptable professional conduct and that her actions could bring the profession into disrepute.
Ms Parry has been banned from teaching indefinitely and cannot apply to have the conviction overturned.
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Source: HIS Education