A grammar school teacher addicted to ketamine sent sexually motivated messages to a pupil and offered to supply her with drugs.

Shane Lycett, former head of computing at Dane Court Grammar School in Broadstairs, has now been banned for life from the profession.

A teacher misconduct panel was told how he sent the girl messages on a social media platform, commented on her appearance and called her a “teenager I’d like to f***”.

It heard how Mr Lycett said he would buy her a “ticket of cocaine” and that when she was 18, they should go out drinking.

The 39-year-old later admitted to school bosses he had a “crippling addiction” to Class B drug ketamine for two years, taking it every other day. He said this would result in a “K Hole” - an intense sensation of feeling separate from your body.

Mr Lycett was head of computing between 2017 and 2024 at Dane Court, a mixed grammar with 1,300 pupils which has a “good” Ofsted rating.

In March 2024, the pupil provided the school with screenshots of the messages she had received from the teacher.

She spoke to police and officers then interviewed Mr Lycett under caution that month. However, no further action was taken by the police due to insufficient evidence.

A professional conduct panel of the Teaching Regulation Authority (TRA) convened last month to consider the case.

A report published by the TRA today reveals that in an initial disciplinary interview with school bosses in March 2024, Mr Lycett maintained he was not the author of the messages - but he then requested a second meeting which took place on the same day.

“During this meeting Mr Lycett declared he had been addicted to ketamine for the past two years, reporting that on average that he takes the drug every other day,” the report says.

“He said this allegedly clouds his judgement and results in a ‘K Hole’, and therefore he could not remember sending the messages to [the pupil] but that he believed it must be that the inappropriate online content was him.”

He said when I'm 18, we should go out drinking. Just us two…

The TRA heard that Mr Lycett admitted accepting a Facebook friend request from the girl in July 2023 and sending her messages.

The panel looked at the screenshots provided by the pupil and her witness account, noting a number of inappropriate comments made by the teacher.

They include Mr Lycett calling her a “f***ing TILF”, which stands for “teenager I’d like to f***”.

The pupil also said: “He started talking about a staff night out to Gadds Brewery and said that he was really drunk.”

Her witness account added: “He said that he would buy me a ticket of cocaine. I said no thanks. Then he said when I'm 18, we should go out drinking. Just us two.”

He also told her ‘‘your hair looks better down”, that he was going to Dreamland to “do pills” and sent other messages about drugs and being “stoned all the time”.

The panel heard Mr Lycett accepted that he failed to maintain appropriate professional boundaries and admitted his behaviour had been sexually motivated.

It added: “The panel noted that Mr Lycett demonstrated a lack of insight into his actions, with no remorse expressed.

“The panel noted the seriousness of the allegations and considered that there was sufficient evidence in the bundle to suggest a risk of future repetition of such behaviour, particularly given the link between Mr Lycett’s behaviour and his addiction problems.

“The panel did note that Mr Lycett expressed some regret of his addiction, although did not believe that there was sufficient evidence to suggest that there was a low risk of future repetition of this behaviour at this point in time.

“The panel decided that the findings indicated a situation in which a review period would not be appropriate and, as such, decided that it would be proportionate, in all the circumstances, for the prohibition order to be recommended without provisions for a review period.”

The TRA’s recommendations were accepted by the Education Secretary. This means Mr Lycett is prohibited from teaching indefinitely.

Due to the seriousness of the allegations proven against him, he shall not be entitled to apply for restoration of his eligibility to teach.

KentOnline has approached Dane Court for comment.