YORK headteacher John Tomsett is to be allowed to carry on teaching, following last month’s misconduct hearing into his affair with a former pupil in the 1990s.

A ‘decision maker,’ acting on behalf of the Education Secretary, said that banning the Huntington School head from teaching would deprive the public of his contribution to the profession and would not be proportionate.

But Mr Tomsett’s future as head of the top York secondary school looks set to be decided separately by a meeting of its governors.

City of York Council confirmed today that the regulatory process examining historical allegations about Mr Tomsett had concluded and the Teacher Regulation Agency (TRA) had published their recommendations.

“The governors will now meet to consider next steps,” said a spokesman.

"It would be inappropriate for us to pre-empt these discussions or comment further.” Mr Tomsett declined to comment.

A TRA misconduct panel heard last month that Mr Tomsett, now 54, became close with a female A-level student when he was an English teacher at Eastbourne Sixth Form College in East Sussex, between 1990 and 1992.

On his last day at the school he kissed her and a sexual relationship subsequently developed.

He told the hearing that the kiss was a 'peck' and described himself as a 'romantic.'

The panel cleared Mr Tomsett of unacceptable professional conduct through his affair with the 18-year-old pupil, but found his admission that a sexual relationship took place after he left employment there might have brought the profession into disrepute.

Now the decision maker, Alan Meyrick, has said that he had given considerable weight in his consideration of sanctions to the contribution Mr Tomsett had made to the profession.

He said the panel had referred to testimonials demonstrating that he was ‘seen as a caring, empathetic, dedicated and driven teacher and leader.’

He said the panel had stated clearly that it was ‘very clear in its finding that it is not professionally acceptable for a teacher to enter into a romantic or sexual relationship with their former pupil shortly after that pupil has left school or college.'

However, it was also clear there was considerable evidence of Mr Tomsett’s ‘positive commitment and contribution to the wider educational sector.’

He said: “For all of these reasons, and the fact that the panel say that ‘the nature and severity of the behaviour is at the less serious end of the possible spectrum,’ I have concluded that not imposing a prohibition order is proportionate and in the public interest in this case.”