Bishop’s Stortford teacher Andrew Bruce is banned from profession

A school pupil “cried and rocked himself to sleep” after being sexually abused by a teacher on a residential trip, a report revealed.

Hertfordshire-based teacher Andrew Bruce, 64, rubbed lotion on the youngster’s body after they came to him for help during the night in 2004.

A hearing was told Mr Bruce targeted two other pupils during trips abroad while he was the director of music at Bishop’s Stortford College.

He was banned from the profession for life by a Teaching Regulation Agency (TRA) panel.

Mr Bruce was first employed by the college in 1986, but resigned in 2018 after a number of allegations were made against him.

The TRA hearing was told the first incident happened while he was assisting the Royal School of Church Music during a residential trip to Nottinghamshire.

A youngster – referred to as pupil D in the report – had asked for assistance during the night and Mr Bruce allegedly asked him to remove his clothes.

“Once naked, Mr Bruce placed soap on pupil D’s body – and in particular, his crotch and groin area,” the TRA report said.

“Mr Bruce touched his genitals when he was cleaning him,” the report said. “Pupil D returned to his bed, cried and rocked himself to sleep.”

The panel heard in June or July 2016, Mr Bruce had been a member of staff on a college residential trip to Normandy, France.

They had returned from a trip to the beach when the teacher instructed pupils to go to their hotel rooms and clean sand from their bodies.

He allegedly then visited the room of two pupils – pupils A and B – and asked them to get naked.

“[They removed their clothes] so he could check if they had properly cleaned themselves, including being told to remove their boxer shorts,” the report added.

The teacher then lifted pupil A’s towel up, exposed his naked body and brushed his back, it was alleged.

A year before, during a trip to Belgium, Mr Bruce had entered a dormitory bathroom while pupil A was showering, the panel was also told.

The allegations were found proven by the panel, which determined Mr Bruce was motivated by “sexual gratification”.

He showed “no remorse” for his actions during the hearing, it added.

TRA decision maker Sarah Buxcey said Mr Bruce could not apply for restoration of his eligibility to teach.