A MARRIED deputy headteacher had sex with a teen girl in a cupboard at a top school.
Philip Culling targeted the “vulnerable” pupil while he was director of music at Godolphin and Latymer School in West London.
The married dad-of-three, who was in his 40s at the time, had a sexual relationship with the 19-year-old.
This included intimate liaisons in his office and a sexual encounter in a cupboard that was interrupted by a dinner lady.
His fling was reportedly an “open secret” among staff at the £33,000-a-year private school.
He was allowed to quietly resign in 2014 without facing a disciplinary hearing, which allowed him to continue working in education.
This included a stint at Holland Park Pre-Prep and Nursery in 2016, which was just one mile from his previous post.
But in 2022 – eight years after his resignation – a whistleblower came forward, which triggered a formal probe.
Culling has now been banned from teaching for life following a tribunal.
The Teaching Regulation Agency found he had embarked on an “inappropriate sexual relationship with a vulnerable pupil”.
Panel chair Jo Palmer-Tweed said: “Mr Culling was a child protection officer at the school, and as such had appropriate training in safeguarding.
“Despite this, he took advantage of the position of trust he was in towards a vulnerable child for his own gratification.”
The tribunal was told Culling and the girl met up secretly, kissed in parks and embraced in the school lift.
They first had sex in a park following a leavers’ reception in June 2013 and the pupil performed a sex act on him after the school’s jazz night.
After the teen left school in 2013, Culling would visit her home while her mum was out and the pair would have sex.
The hearing was told: “Mr Culling came around, approximately once a week, and that they would talk and have sexual intercourse.
“She stated that she moved into a flat in late August 2013, and that a lot of sexual acts including touching and oral sex happened in very public areas.”
Culling bought the girl, who was named only as Person B, gifts and referred to her as the “LOML” – love of my life – in a good luck message before her A-levels.
He also signed a Valentine’s card addressed to “by far the most gorgeous and wonderful person in the entire world”.
Culling took the girl to the pub for her birthday drink during school hours and received oral sex from her in the cupboard on a number of occasions.
Goldolphin leaders did not contact police or teaching regulators because they believed the relationship had only started when the teenager left the school.
The girl told the tribunal that Culling had “asked her lie” about the relationship in 2014 amid fears he would lose his job.
The deputy head coached her on how to make the fling sound as “recent as it could be”, it was said.
He even messaged her in 2023 after the probe was launched in a bid to convince her not to help the investigation.
Culling told her: “I’m hoping you’ll agree with me that it is best not to engage with it. You can’t be made to.”
He has now been banned from teaching indefinitely, with no review period, after being found him guilty of unacceptable professional conduct.
The watchdog said: “The panel heard evidence of the long-term impact on Person B including the shame she feels as a result of their relationship and of having been coerced to lie to protect him.
“It has tainted her memories of her school experience, and she referred to having ‘struggled to see herself in a good light’.
“Mr Culling’s conduct led to Person B being exposed to, or influenced by, his behaviour in a harmful way.”
Godolphin and Latymer School, based in Hammersmith, has around 800 female pupils between the ages of 11 and 18.
Famous alumni include celebrity chef Nigella Lawson, Hollywood actress Kate Beckinsale, singer Sophie Ellis-Bextor and TV presenter Davina McCall.
A spokesperson said: “he TRA’s report reveals a shocking and deeply disturbing pattern of past behaviour which we unequivocally condemn.
“We fully support the TRA’s decision to bar Philip Culling from working in the teaching profession ever again.
“He left Godolphin and Latymer 11 years ago after a comprehensive governor-led investigation into his conduct.
“The Hammersmith and Fulham LADO was fully aware and supported the school’s actions at the time, and the police were also informed. Information and evidence not previously available to the school have now come to light through the TRA process and we are reviewing this.
“Above all, we are devastated to learn that a former pupil suffered in this way.”
