A disgraced deputy head who groomed a pupil and had sexual liaisons with her in his office has finally been struck off after dodging justice for a decade when bosses at his school failed to alert watchdogs.
Philip Culling, 52, was director of music at Godolphin and Latymer School in west London - where former pupils include Nigella Lawson, Kate Beckinsale and Davina McCall - when he began an affair with the teenager.
Despite being married with three children and responsible for pupil safeguarding, Culling engaged in a series of sexual encounters with the student - including intimate liaisons in his office and a cupboard tryst that was interrupted by a dinner lady.
His fling with the 19-year-old was said at the time to have been an 'open secret' among staff at the elite private school, where yearly sixth-form fees now cost more than £30,000.
However, Culling was allowed to quietly resign in 2014 without facing a disciplinary hearing, thereby escaping any kind of sanction and enabling him to continue working in education.
