A PRIVATE school is “appalled” by a former teacher who was jailed after being found guilty of sexual offences against a student.

Staff at Hurstpierpoint College have been left “shocked and upset” after Aaron Gardner was given a two-year prison sentence for inciting a girl to engage in sexual activity with him.

The Argus was told that “nobody spotted” what the 32-year-old was doing until his victim, who was under 18, came forward to report what had happened while they were both at the college in Hassocks.

Hurstpierpoint College’s head of safeguarding said the school “would never cover anything up” and changes have been made following the incident, which happened several years ago.

Director of safeguarding Debbie Stoneley, who started the role after the incident, said: “A lot of the children knew him as well as the parents, he was a delightful person to work with, nobody spotted it, there was not an inkling from anyone.

“The girl was incredibly brave to come forward, as a school we would never cover anything up. We are open and transparent because, sadly, sometimes in life, things happen.

“We are so shocked and upset about this, we would never want this to happen to a child again.

“We have had a really good look at our policies and procedures to see if there is any way we could have picked it up. I am looking at the policies with the chair of governors next week.

“We have to look and see if there is anything we could have done differently.

“As a school, we have to learn from this.”

The Argus: Hurstpierpoint College teaches pupils from four to 18 years oldHurstpierpoint College teaches pupils from four to 18 years old

The school follows government guidelines called “keeping children safe in education” which were published in 2015.

There is also an online portal for students to message if they feel uncomfortable going to staff members in person to complain about a situation.

Potential new teachers have to have face-to-face interviews and training so they can be thoroughly vetted.

This includes disclosure and barring service checks to make sure they are not barred from working with children.

The school received an excellent grade from the Independent Schools Inspectorate in 2019. Potential staff are not allowed to walk through school grounds until these checks have been carried out.

Gardner, of Ashdown Close, Malvern, Worcestershire, admitted six counts of abusing his role of being in a position of trust to incite a girl who was under 18 to engage in sexual activity with him.

He appeared at Hove Crown Court earlier this month where he was jailed, banned from working with children indefinitely and given a sexual harm prevention order lasting ten years.