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A trainee teacher who had sex with a student at a top girls' school just weeks after starting the job faces being banned from the profession.

Modern languages teacher Christopher Austen, 30, had a secret relationship with the schoolgirl while teaching at Tolworth Girls' School in south London.

Newly-qualified Austen had only just secured his first job in the profession when he struck up the illicit romance with the 18-year-old.

But he is now set to be axed from the profession after a disciplinary panel found him guilty of misconduct.

Austen met the sixth-former in a shop where she worked part-time, just four weeks after starting at the school in September 2016, the Teaching Regulation Agency, in Coventry, West Mids, was told.

(Image: Midlands Media Agency)

The pair swapped numbers and embarked on a relationship which ended when the schoolgirl pulled the plug on Christmas Eve.

She told investigators that she was "weirded out" by the relationship and "couldn't cope".

Austen then confronted her at work to beg her to reconsider her decision, the student revealed.

She said: "Mr Austen turned up at work twice in the car park to talk about it when he knew I had a shift.

"He gave me a letter where he was asking me to get back together again."

Mr Austen claimed he did not immediately know his girlfriend was a pupil at the school and was said to have ordered the girl to keep their relationship quiet when he learned where she studied.

The student, who was not named, said: "When Mr Austen realised, he got a bit nervous.

"We went back to his car and he said 'I really like you, we just have to keep this secret'."

The secret relationship only emerged a year later when school bosses probed Facebook exchanges with another pupil.

Austen was dismissed by the school in April 2018.

The Teaching Regulation Agency ruled Austen had brought the profession into disrepute and committed unacceptable professional conduct.

Panel chair Roger Woods said: "Mr Austen was aware of the relationship he was in and sought to conceal it.

"On failing to end the relationship, Mr Austen demonstrated his knowledge and awareness that his was an inappropriate relationship."

Giving evidence, ex-deputy head Elizabeth Tongue said that rumours surrounding Mr Austen had swirled among pupils.

She said: "At no point did he make us aware of the relationship while he was teaching.

"He said he didn't regret the relationship."

Austen, who was not present at the hearing, faced a police probe but no charges were brought

He claimed that he never sought to ask where the A-level student studied.

In a document read by presenting officer Roderick Clarkson, Austen insisted: "She just said she was at college and she was 18. But no details, that was it. On dates I never tell people exactly where I work."

He said his decision did not tell school bosses was "partly selfish" because "it was my first half term being a teacher".

The panel heard he considers disciplinary action against him to be "unfair".

Civil servants will now decide whether to hand him a classroom ban.

A decision will be announced at a later date.

Outstanding-rated Tolworth School, in Surbiton, is described as being among of Britain's top state schools.

Former pupils include Debbie McGee, the wife of late TV magician Paul Daniels, and Big Brother's Saskia Howard-Clarke. Headteacher Siobhan Lowe said: "We take safeguarding and child protection very seriously. All new and temporary staff at the school are required to complete safeguarding training upon employment.

"As soon as the relationship between Christopher Austen and a student was brought to the attention of our Child Protection Officer, we acted promptly and followed the safeguarding protocols which included involving the council, who then notified the police.

"Mr Austen was immediately suspended from his role and his employment was terminated following an internal disciplinary process which concluded in April 2018."