Joe Wilson

Joe Wilson told his boss at Listerdale Junior Academy in Rotherham, South Yorkshire that he wouldn't be coming in to school as he was 'up all night being sick' – but a tribunal found he was actually on a stag do in Lisbon

A primary school teacher "pulled a sickie" to jet off on a stag do in Portugal with his mates and attempted to conceal his tracks by tearing pages from his passport, a tribunal has revealed.

Joe Wilson told his headteacher at Listerdale Junior Academy in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, that he wouldn't be attending school as he was "up all night being sick" on 18 May 2023, according to the Mirror.

The following day, the Year 6 teacher claimed he was unable to "keep any food or water down", taking a second day off while promising to keep his superiors informed.

Mr Wilson later admitted that the two sick days were in fact an elaborate ruse to attend a friend's stag do in Lisbon, which he attempted to cover up by ripping out pages from his passport that revealed he had flown to the Portuguese capital.

A Teaching Regulation Agency (TRA) panel heard that Mr Wilson embarked on the secret trip between Thursday, 18 May, and Friday, 19 May 2023. He set the deception in motion at around 5am on the first day, telling his boss: "I'm not going to be in school today. I've been up all night being sick and have got a really bad headache."

He then sent a follow-up message the next day, stating: "I'm still no better so won't be in school today. Can't keep any food or water down. I'll keep you updated."

The panel heard that Mr Wilson was caught out by an anonymous member of staff, who reported photographs showing the teacher at an airport holding a pint of beer. One photograph, posted by a second person at 5.23am on the morning of Mr Wilson's flight, went online with the caption: "Early start for... stag do, few beers with the Portugal gaffer".

The teacher had initially insisted the photos were from a previous trip, but subsequently admitted to the TRA in October 2025 that he "agreed to attend a stag do in Lisbon".

He added that he "made a huge error of judgement but (felt) the situation at the time influenced (him) to make this poor decision" and that he "accepted full responsibility" for his actions, including "falsifying a sickness".

In February, he emailed the agency stating he "pulled a sickie to go on (his) mates stag do". Mr Wilson also tore out pages from his passport to conceal that he had been abroad.

He told the TRA he "made a huge mistake of taking out a page of (his) passport" after "an informal chat with (his) headteacher" as she "encouraged (him) to show something 'to get them off my case'". He also admitted he was "ashamed" of his actions.

An investigation report revealed that Mr Wilson handed his passport to a member of school staff in June 2023, and photocopies of the document showed that pages 9, 10, 27 and 28 were missing, according to the tribunal.

The panel concluded that Mr Wilson had been absent from school without a valid reason, had informed the school that his absence was due to illness when this was not the case, and had removed pages from his passport that would have contained stamps proving he was abroad on the dates in question.

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The panel stated in its judgement: "In falsely reporting his sickness absence and providing an altered document during an investigation, Mr Wilson was intentionally misleading the school and concealing the truth.

"The panel considered that Mr Wilson's behaviour fell below the ethical standards expected of a teacher and was contrary to the manner in which the profession professes to serve the public." It further determined that his conduct was dishonest, lacked integrity, and that his actions risked bringing the profession into disrepute.

However, it was ruled that a prohibition order, which would have resulted in Mr Wilson being banned from teaching, was not a proportionate response, and that publishing the findings would be sufficient.