Former sixth former Samuel Goodman said he and his classmates were "devastated" when they were told months' worth of coursework would have to be resubmitted.

A professional conduct panel later found that his health and social care teacher, Tandy L'Enfant, had amended pupils' work and "dishonestly" awarded grades while working at the Joseph Whitaker School in Rainworth, Nottinghamshire.

L'Enfant was banned from teaching following the hearing, which concluded in July.

But Samuel, now 20, was left with a "distrust" for the education system which, among other reasons, led to him leaving university in his first year.

The East Midlands Education Trust, which runs the school, said it was "genuinely sorry for the disruption and pressure they faced in the final months of their studies".

Samuel was in his final year of sixth form when L'Enfant joined the school in September 2023.

He said he had completed all of his coursework in advance of a planned kidney operation that academic year.

But in April 2024, pupils were told grades would have to be resubmitted to the examination board after an investigation found discrepancies in the awarding of grades, and given weeks to redo their work.

"It was devastating, I remember us being told, sat down and told that this had happened.

"We'd been told that there were not only problems with the teaching but the coursework, we would have to totally redo it," he said.

He added: "I was pretty shaken up because it was a lot to go through. We were going to the school and asking for help," he said.

Samuel said he and others had been raising concerns about L'Enfant's teaching to the school within a month of her joining, Goodman said.

However, he added that the students were being "told off" rather than being supported.

"We were getting told off for something that wasn't our fault," he said.

He said he knew something was truly wrong when one student received a grade for coursework she had not yet submitted.

"My friend got an email saying she had a 'distinction' for a piece of coursework she hadn't actually handed in," he said.

In March 2024, the school made a referral to the exam board in relation to allegations of exam malpractice on behalf of L'Enfant. She was referred to the Teaching Regulation Agency (TRA) by a parent and the school in May that year.

According to a report published by the TRA, L'Enfant was off sick from 15 March.

The TRA panel found L'Enfant amended or added to three pupils' coursework, "purporting it to be their own" and awarded and submitted grades for six pupils which were not supported by their work.

The report concluded: "The misconduct involved deliberate conduct and findings of fraud and serious dishonesty. The actions were not isolated or momentary lapses of judgement.

"Rather, they occurred across more than one class, involved more than one examination process and continued over a period of time."

Goodman said he "never" received an apology from the school or the teacher.

Lucy Eggink, who was in the same class as Goodman, said students also raised concerns directly to L'Enfant, but said they were "brushed off".

She added that concerns raised by parents were also not met with urgency and even "ignored" by the school.

Eggink said as the class was preparing for an exam they "weren't being taught the content" required to pass.

The misconduct panel concluded that on the balance of probabilities, L'Enfant "had provided adequate tuition to pupils during her employment at the school".

However, Eggink said she and others found themselves "self-teaching" outside of lessons and felt their concerns were "dismissed" by the school.

"It was sort of like we were being treated like troublemakers. It was like we were brushed off, as though we were just kids," she added.

She said: "Why didn't you [the school] listen? I felt very let down.

"How had this happened under their noses for months and they didn't know?"

Eggink added she believed that, as the only health and social teacher in the school, L'Enfant was "under pressure [she] could not imagine".

However, she added: "There is no excuse for her actions."

A third former Year 13 student, who wanted to remain anonymous, said: "This caused a range of emotions of anger and sadness during these weeks, not knowing if we could get into university."

A fourth former student, who also wanted to remain anonymous, added they wished they were "taken more seriously" by the school when they raised concerns.

"There are genuinely not enough words to describe how I felt during the moment of finding out [about having to redo coursework] and the betrayal we all felt."

In written representation to the TRA panel, L'Enfant said she was "sincerely sorry" for her role in "these matters".

She wrote: "I apologise to my students, to the school community, to the profession, and to the panel for the failings identified."

In a statement to the BBC, the trust said: "East Midlands Education Trust and Joseph Whitaker School take the experiences of these students and their families extremely seriously, and we are genuinely sorry for the disruption and pressure they faced in the final months of their studies.

"As soon as concerns about coursework were identified, the school launched a thorough investigation, working alongside the exam board.

"This meant asking students to resubmit and complete coursework in a short period, at an already stressful point in the school year. We recognise how difficult this was, and staff worked hard to give students the best possible chance of completing their qualification.

"Because the matter was subject to an ongoing investigation and disciplinary process, and a live exam board inquiry, we could not publicly confirm details at the time. We understand this was frustrating for students and parents, and senior staff met with parents directly to talk through the situation.

"The findings of the Teaching Regulation Agency confirm this was the result of one individual's serious and deliberate misconduct.

"There is no excuse for what happened, and we are sorry for the impact it had on these students at such a critical stage of their education. The school's swift response ensured that, despite an extremely difficult situation, every affected student was able to complete their qualification."

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