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Teacher Samantha Burmis, from Gravesend, who taught in Lenham, Aylesford and Tenterden is barred from the classroom

A teacher jailed for using her daughter’s fingerprints to try to hide her criminal past has been banned from the profession.

Samantha Burmis, 44, was sentenced last year at Maidstone Crown Court.

The mum-of-four from Gravesend, denied obtaining a pecuniary advantage by deception and conspiracy to pervert the course of justice, but was found guilty of both charges.

Teacher Samantha Burmis, who hid her criminal record, outside Maidstone Crown Court. Picture: Mike Gunnill
Teacher Samantha Burmis, who hid her criminal record, outside Maidstone Crown Court. Picture: Mike Gunnill

Judges heard that Burmis had declared she had not been convicted of any offence or had been to jail when she applied for a teaching job at Aylesford School Sports College.

But under her married name of Virgo, she had been jailed for a year in 1995 for a £90,000 mortgage fraud. After serving her sentence she trained to be a teacher.

Knowing police had her prints from the fraud case, she offered to have them taken again and when an expert visited her house they were met with Nina with her face covered who produced her mother's driving licence.

Samantha Burmis, pictured in 2007 after she won an employment tribunal for unfair dismissal
Samantha Burmis, pictured in 2007 after she won an employment tribunal for unfair dismissal

But the plan came unstuck when police discovered Nina's prints on their files and matched them.

This month a professional conduct panel met to consider the case. It recommended that she be barred from teaching with immediate effect.

Its judgement added: "We find she had been convicted of offences involving serious dishonesty which involved breach of the teachers’ standards, there is a strong public interest consideration in respect of the protection of pupils given these findings."

The decision also covers children's homes and youth accommodation.

Aylesford School Sports College is the centre of a social media storm.
Aylesford School Sports College is the centre of a social media storm.

Burmis has also taught at Swadelands school in Lenham and Homewood in Tenterden.

She was employed from May 2001 to February 2005 and received a total income of just under £60,000.

In September last year Burmis failed in her bid to have her sentence reviewed. Daughter Nina was sentenced to 18 months suspended for two years with supervision and curfew for four months.

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