A teacher has been found guilty of unacceptable professional conduct for pursuing a 'friendship' with an 8-year-old girl while working at a primary school in Winchester in the 90s.

Mark Sills admitted he "tarnished the good name of teaching" after facing a host of historic allegations during a misconduct hearing which ran from Thursday, November 17 to Friday, November 25.

The allegations were largely centred around one pupil, who cannot be named for legal reasons, and were said to have taken place between 1995 and 1996 while he was employed as a year four teacher.

His actions were referred to the Teaching Regulation Agency (TRA) by the police after he was arrested, questioned and later released without charge in 2018.

Having met the girl - who was referred to as Pupil A - in his class, the TRA claimed he went on to engage in a host of inappropriate 'secret' lunchtime meetings where he would 'summon' her to come to his portacabin classroom alone.

While there, it was said he would sit her on his knee and 'cuddle' her while he read a story.

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Sills was accused of sticking notes on her Maths book with messages such as "see you at lunch" and smiley faces.

Giving evidence, Pupil A said there was a time he got "cross" with her and told her to "be more careful" after she left one of the notes in her book. She added that she felt her participation "wasn't optional".

Her childhood friend, who was referred to as Pupil B, also spoke at the hearing.

She said Pupil A would ask her to walk around the playground together until their footsteps aligned so that Sills wouldn't know there was more than one person coming over the bridge to his classroom. 

Pupil B further claimed she mistakenly sat on Sills's knee during one of the meetings, to which he replied, "no not you, I meant Pupil A".

On one occasion he went to her house with her parents' blessing to "see her guinea pigs". While there it was alleged he locked himself in her room and read her a story on her bed.

That same evening, her mum, who was referred to as Individual A, recalled finding a 'love poem' screwed up in her toy box. The poem, which was allegedly given to Pupil A by Sills, said all the other kids were "grey and boring" compared to her.

Sills, who was 26 at the time, later sent a letter to the family in November of 1995 after he became concerned over "playground rumours" which he felt could have been misconstrued.

In the letter, of which sections were read to the hearing, he said he had been "foolish" and told of the "pleasure" he got from being around her. 

He described her as "appealing" and "intriguing", adding that the fact he wanted to spend time with her was causing difficulties with his wife.

Referring to a hug they shared after Pupil A didn't get a role in a school assembly, Sills said he 'never been touched in that way before by a pupil'. 

The letter allegedly came after a conversation in which Sills was told he couldn't see her at lunchtime anymore as it wasn't appropriate.

It added that he "missed her intensely every day", and that it was hard for him knowing she was "so near yet so far".

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The hearing was told the lunchtime meetings continued afterwards, sometimes with other pupils attending, despite the fact her parents were unlikely to have known. 

In Easter the following year he was accused of turning up uninvited to her swimming lesson at River Park Leisure Centre and telling her mum he "missed her".

On two occasions, Sills was said to have driven past Pupil A while she was walking and offered her a lift to her piano lesson. 

The incidents caused Pupil A to tell her Au Pair she no longer wanted to attend the lessons and subsequently led to Pupil A's mum approaching the head teacher of the school who finally put a stop to the meetings.

In a separate incident, Sills was said to have instructed Pupil B to tell another student 'he liked her knickers' as she did a handstand on the grass at lunch. 

While Sills admitted some of the allegations, he denied ever locking Pupil A in her bedroom or his classroom, cuddling her, writing her a poem, or encouraging her to keep the meetings secret. He also denied making a comment about another student's underwear.

He refuted claims the relationship was of a sexual nature or that he had an infatuation with Pupil A, instead describing it as a "friendship".

He told the panel Pupil A would instigate the meetings as she had previously been part of a group that would have helped with prepping the classroom at lunch and struggled with her new teacher when she moved group. 

After "wrestling" with the words he wrote in the letter, Sills, who had twins of his own in 1999, said he had recently come to the realisation that the feelings he felt for Pupil A at the time were paternal and a sign he was ready to become a father.

Despite that, he admitted the language he used came over as "intense" and "gushing", but insisted he was only trying to convey how "special" Pupil A was.

"I certainly used some strongly worded phrases," he said. "I am a deep and emotional person. I would say the time I have spent with my own children is the most precious and beautiful I have had and being a parent is the best thing that ever happened to me. I think I was spelling out exactly what it meant to me in that letter."

Asked whether he felt his conduct was appropriate, he described the 90s as a more "open" and "innocent" time but insisted he felt they both benefitted from the relationship. 

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However, towards the latter stages, he accepted it was 'more him' wanting things to continue the way they were.

"In that respect, I was stubborn and maybe a bit arrogant," he added. "So for that, I put my hands up."

The panel found a host of the allegations to be true, although they cleared Sills of 'cuddling' Pupil A, locking himself in her bedroom and giving her gifts.

They further ruled that the allegation of him wanting to be with an 8-year-old girl rather than his wife was a 'misquote', and that there was no indication the relationship was of a sexual nature. 

Mona Sood, who chaired the hearing, also said there was insufficient evidence to back up claims of Mr Sills making an inappropriate comment about another student's knickers.

However, she found his behaviour still amounted to misconduct of a serious nature which fell "significantly short" of the standards expected of the profession.

She said: "Mr Sills' actions towards Pupil A were a serious misjudgement and led to the breakdown of an appropriate teacher-pupil relationship.

"He overstepped that fundamental boundary by a wide mark. He accepted in his evidence the relationship became more about his needs than the needs of Pupil A. He did not sense the discomfort he brought to Pupil A or recognise the potential harm of his actions."

It wasn't confirmed at the hearing whether Sills has been banned from teaching, although his representative, Melanie Williamson, said he has no desire to return to the profession. 

"There are so many former pupils who have nothing but positive memories of Mr Sills," she added. "It is my submission that this hearing and the findings you have made is punishment enough. I wonder what else is to be gained?"