A music teacher who emailed a pupil about her dating life and bought them a birthday present has been banned from the profession.

Cheryl Horne, who was director of music at Queen Elizabeth’s School in Chipping Barnet, was dismissed from the school following an investigation in 2019 and now won’t be able to return to any teaching role.

The decision was made after a professional conduct panel held in March following allegations of misconduct made between 2018 and 2019, which included emailing four pupils out of school time and leaving a alcoholic gift in her desk.

The panel also heard she gifted a score of Mahler’s 2nd Symphony to one pupil for his birthday, gave a different pupil a key fob for access to the school, and also arranged a trip to the Royal Albert Hall without the school’s knowledge.

Ms Horne did not attend the hearing, but a witness statement submitted to the panel said there was a "blurring of lines with a small handful of older students" which was through no malice nor any other motive, and had apologised for her behaviour.

The teacher emailed one pupil about alcoholic drinks, used the love heart emoji and discussed her dating life. The teacher admitted that by sending the emails she was "overfamiliar and failed to maintain professional boundaries with students".

Ms Horne also admitted leftover alcohol from events after school was left in a fridge while a bottle of gin received from a colleague was left in her desk, which the panel said failed to adequately safeguard pupils at the school.

The hearing also heard she had admitted "repeated and inappropriate" access by students to the staff work areas at the school, and provided a key fob to another pupil which allowed him unsupervised access to the school with an email suggesting this was kept overnight.

The panel ruled it was a breach of the Teachers’ Standards in regards to maintaining high standards of ethics and behaviour by treating pupils with dignity and having regard for the need to safeguard pupils’ well-being.

It was also ruled a breach of standards in relation to having proper and professional regard for the ethos, policies and practices of the school in which they teach, and in breach of expectations that teachers must have an understanding of the statutory frameworks which set out their professional duties.

Ms Horne was described as a "well liked member of staff" by a colleague and the report noted she had apologised for her behaviour.

However, the panel decided an order banning her from teaching was necessary to maintain public confidence in the profession. Ms Horne will be able to review the order in March 2024.

Queen Elizabeth’s School did not respond to a request for comment. The school suspended Ms Horner in January 2019 and later dismissed the teacher after a finding of gross misconduct.