Teacher banned after drunken brawl at the races

A maths teacher has been banned from the classroom after he drunkenly assaulted two police officers during a work day out at the races.

Declan Sealy had downed 10 pints at Chester Races and then bit a bouncer on the thumb before police had to use tear gas him to stop him, a disciplinary hearing was told.

The panel heard Sealy, who taught at Dixons Brooklands Academy in Wythenshawe, Manchester, was later convicted of assault over the violence at the Cheshire racecourse on 1 July 2023.

The Teaching Regulation Authority (TRA) has now banned the 45-year-old for two years after it found him guilty of professional misconduct.

The hearing was told that Sealy previously had an "unblemished" record as a teacher and had since decided to abstain from alcohol.

A character reference provided to the panel said Sealy was a "wonderful father", an "upstanding member of the community" and a churchgoer.

The panel was told the rugby coach was embarrassed and ashamed by his actions at the racecourse.

The TRA ruled his "actions in deciding to attend the event and consume alcohol to that extent to have been reckless".

The misconduct panel decided his two-year teaching ban was "proportionate".

The ban means he cannot teach in any school, sixth form college, relevant youth accommodation or children's home in England.

Sealy was earlier convicted of assault occasioning actual bodily harm, assault by beating of an emergency worker and being drunk and disorderly in 2024, the TRA heard.

He was sentenced to 30 weeks in prison, suspended for 12 months, and magistrates ordered him to do 25 days' rehabilitation and 200 hours of unpaid work per charge.

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