Former teacher at St Joseph’s College, in Ipswich, Andrew Dixon is banned following misconduct

A former teacher at a private school in Suffolk has been banned from the profession indefinitely following a violent assault on a holiday company worker on college grounds.

Andrew Dixon, 26, had worked at St Joseph’s College, in Ipswich, as a PE teacher, boarding house tutor and head of house, but he was dismissed from the school in January 2023 following a disciplinary hearing.

The previous month, he was arrested at the college after committing a violent assault while under the influence of alcohol, in front of a number of pupils.

A professional conduct panel of the Teaching Regulation Agency (TRA), which published its report yesterday, found there had been breaches of the Teachers’ Standards.

Following a recommendation from the panel, Sarah Buxcey, on behalf of the Secretary of State, decided to ban Mr Dixon from teaching indefinitely, with the option for him to apply for the prohibition order to be removed in two years’ time.

According to the referral to the TRA, Mr Dixon went out for drinks after work with colleagues after the term had finished on December 16, 2022.

He returned to campus and, instead of returning to his staff accommodation at a different location on campus, he arrived at a common room where a group of 24 Spanish students had been staying prior to their return to Spain.

At about 10.40pm, there were reports from students that Mr Dixon was fighting with a male member of staff from the holiday company who was looking after the group of students.

The police were called, and Mr Dixon was arrested for assault occasioning actual bodily harm.

Mr Dixon, who admitted the offence, was convicted at Suffolk Magistrates’ Court on March 30, 2023, of assault occasioning actual bodily harm and was ordered to pay a fine and compensation.

The victim had said, in a written statement to police, that he had been left in pain in his jaw since the incident and potentially required surgery, he had broken his thumb and he had several bruises.

The panel noted that Mr Dixon had continued to demonstrate his aggressive behaviour in front of pupils, despite having multiple opportunities to remove himself and ensure that they did not witness the incident.

“As a result, the panel considered that Mr Dixon had failed in his duty to safeguard the pupils involved,” the report said.

The panel had sight of written statements from pupils who were present that had been provided to the police, who stated that they felt ‘shock’ at seeing the incident.

The panel said Mr Dixon’s behaviour fundamentally breached the standard of conduct expected of a teacher and, if he were allowed to continue teaching following committing the offence, it would likely affect public confidence in the teaching profession.

In a letter to the TRA, Mr Dixon had said he was ‘genuinely sorry’ for his actions, the incident was ‘totally out of character’ and he understood that he had let the college down.

Mr Dixon, who was absent from the professional conduct panel hearing on October 25, explained in written representations that he had started to walk to his flat but he had heard noises coming from the boarding house and so he decided to investigate.

He had become ‘concerned’ and ‘suspicious’ about a man that he did not recognise at the boarding house, which resulted in a verbal exchange and had escalated to a physical altercation.

Mr Dixon also described the steps he had taken to address his issues since the incident, such as engaging in a series of counselling sessions to explore his relationship with alcohol and issues with anger management.

The panel found that he had demonstrated remorse on several occasions and noted that he had fully engaged in the college’s disciplinary process.

St Joseph’s College was approached for comment.

It is an independent school for day and boarding pupils between the ages of two and 19.