A former PE teacher has been struck off after a web of lies about his supposed football career unravelled, thanks to a suspicious student and his curious father.
Aaron Smith, once employed at Woodlands Primary School between 2015 and 2016, falsely claimed he had played for West Bromwich Albion, Leicester City, and the England schoolboys under-15s team.
According to a Teaching Regulation Agency (TRA) misconduct panel, these claims were completely fabricated.
PE Teacher’s Fake Football Claims Exposed by Pupil
Mr Smith told colleagues and pupils he had been a rising star in English football, representing professional teams between the ages of 11 and 20.
He even went so far as to doctor a Leicester City team photograph by inserting his own face and produced a falsified team sheet to back his claims.
The deception might have gone unnoticed if not for a curious student and his father, who attempted to verify the stories online. Finding no trace of Smith’s footballing past, they raised the alarm.
“The Football Association later confirmed that no such match had occurred and that Mr Smith had never represented England at any level,” the panel heard.
This revelation triggered a deeper investigation by the school and the TRA.
Props and Fake Documents
Smith’s elaborate ruse included showing students football memorabilia, shirts, medals, and manipulated photos.
But it was during a school assembly in February 2016, where he proudly presented the fabricated England team sheet, that doubts began to surface. As suspicions grew, it became evident that Smith’s professional claims didn’t hold water.
The deceit didn’t end at Woodlands Primary. After leaving in 2016, Smith secured a position at Co-op Academy Bebington, where he remained until 2022.
In his application, he lied again, claiming to have held two part-time roles through SY4C, a childcare and sports education company. These positions, too, were found to be made up.
Then, in 2021, concerns around his frequent absences from school led to a welfare meeting. Smith produced a letter supposedly from a Liverpool-based psychotherapy and counselling service.
However, the document was riddled with grammatical errors and misspellings. Further checks revealed that the doctor who allegedly wrote the letter did not exist.
Receives Five-Year Teaching Ban
The TRA panel concluded that: “The conduct of Mr Smith amounted to misconduct of a serious nature which fell significantly short of the standards expected of the profession.”
As a result, Smith has been banned from teaching for a minimum of five years.
This incident raises significant concerns about vetting procedures and the ease with which documents and records can be falsified. In a profession that relies on trust, integrity, and setting an example, the actions of Mr Smith serve as a stark reminder of the damage one individual’s deceit can cause.
Smith’s case isn’t just about fake football dreams; it’s about the erosion of trust in education and the safeguarding of children from misleading influences. His teaching career now lies in tatters, not because of a lack of talent, but because of a lack of truth.
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