A school teacher accidentally revealed his YouTube search history, including “teen bikini haul”, to pupils during a geography lesson at an all-girls’ boarding school, a teaching conduct panel heard.
James Hindson, teacher at Moreton Hall School in Shropshire, was searching for a clip to illustrate global trade based on a song when students caught sight of his previous searches on the video-sharing platform.
They reported they had seen a search term “teen bikini haul”, and another term which they recalled to be either “teens in thongs” or “girls in thongs”.
One pupil even managed to take a photograph of the screen, which was taken into account as part of the school investigation which resulted in Mr Hindson being sacked.
Ahead of a Teaching Regulaton Agency (TRA) meeting, Mr Hindson admitted displaying at least one of the YouTube search terms to pupils during the class in May, 2025, and that the searches were of a sexual nature.
The panel found, on the balance of proabilities, that the search term “teen bikini haul” and at least one of the search terms “teens in thongs” or “girls in thongs” were displayed to pupils. In a written submission to the panel, Mr Hindson said the searches had been made whilst at home.
When school investigators reviewed, they found Mr Hindson’s search history linked to the term “teen” came up with results for teenagers in little clothing or engaging in athletic activity, the panel was told.
A “long list of inappropriate videos” had also been searched for, the school found.
The TRA conduct panel concluded: “[The panel] noted that the searches had been carried out over a prolonged period and that many of the search terms shared common themes of a sexual nature. The panel carefully considered whether there was any innocent explanation for the conduct but found none on the evidence before it.
“The panel concluded that on the balance of probabilities, there was sufficient evidence that Mr Hindson’s conduct was sexually motivated.”
Reflecting on teaching standards, the panel found Mr Hindson had breached several, including upholding public trust by treating pupils with dignity and having regard for the need to safeguard pupils’ well-being.
Pupils’ attitudes toward the teacher had changed following the incident, the panel said, and it would have caused embarrassment to the pupils.
The panel, however, noted that the police determined that the conduct fell below the threshold of criminality. It also concluded that there was insufficient evidence to establish that Mr Hindson had viewed any indecent image or photograph of a child.
Mr Hindson was found guilty of unacceptable professional conduct by Marc Cavey, decision-maker on behalf of the education secretary, and banned from teaching indefinitely.