Teacher pulled a sickie to go to Portugal for a friend's stag do and later ripped out pages of his passport to cover his tracks

By JOHN SIDDLE and ELIZABETH HAIGH, SENIOR NEWS REPORTER Published: 13:48, 5 June 2026 | Updated: 13:54, 5 June 2026 A primary school teacher called in sick so he could go to a stag do in Portugal - before tearing pages from his passport to cover his tracks. Joe Wilson, a Year 6 teacher at Listerdale Junior Academy in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, told his boss in May 2023 he would not be in because he had been 'up all night being sick' and had 'a really bad headache'. The following morning, he claimed he was 'still no better' and that he could not 'keep any food or water down'. While his pupils were left without their regular teacher, Mr Wilson was in fact abroad on a stag trip in Lisbon, the Teaching Regulation Agency watchdog heard. But it decided not to ban him from the classroom, noting that no pupils were harmed and ruled publication of the hearing would be sufficient punishment. The deception began to unravel after an anonymous member of staff passed on Facebook photos showing him at an airport with a suitcase and a pint of beer. One post was captioned: 'Early start for... stag do, few beers with the Portugal gaffer'. When confronted, Mr Wilson initially denied being in Portugal on the dates in question and claimed that the photos of him abroad were from a previous trip. Joe Wilson, a Year 6 teacher at Listerdale Junior Academy (pictured) in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, told his boss in May 2023 he would not be in because he was sick, but he was actually on a stag do But he eventually admitted he had 'pulled a sickie to go on [his] mate's stag do' and had accepted 'full responsibility' for 'falsifying a sickness'. The panel heard that Mr Wilson handed over his passport during the school disciplinary investigation - only for four pages to be found missing. When asked during the investigation why pages were missing, Mr Wilson replied: 'I don’t know'. He later admitted removing a page from his passport. In a written statement to the TRA, he said he had 'made a huge mistake' and was 'ashamed' of his actions. The panel concluded that the missing pages were likely to have contained stamps showing he was out of the country on the days he had claimed to be sick. Mr Wilson was not present at the hearing in Coventry, West Midlands. Panel chair Gamel Byles concluded that Mr Wilson’s behaviour was dishonest, saying he had 'a clear intention to prevent the school from finding out about his attendance on a ‘stag do’ abroad'. He said: 'Any ordinary person would view Mr Wilson’s conduct to be concerning, as he was absent from his teaching duties without authorisation from the school and lied to the school about his whereabouts. 'In particular, the panel considered that the public would consider Mr Wilson’s continued dishonesty to the school throughout the investigation, and his attempt to conceal his location by removing pages of his passport, to be completely unacceptable.' The panel said his conduct 'attempted to mislead the school and was fundamentally dishonest'. It also found that his behaviour 'fell below the ethical standards expected of a teacher' The panel noted that Mr Wilson had received sick pay for the two days and 'had not offered to return this sum'. Despite the damning findings, Mr Wilson was not banned from teaching. The panel said his misconduct 'did not ultimately cause any harm to pupils' and 'whilst not to be condoned, was not at the most serious end'. In a statement Mr Wilson expressed remorse, telling the TRA he had 'made a mistake and tried to cover this mistake with another mistake'. The panel ruled that publication of its findings against Mr Wilson was enough of a punishment. It said that it was aware of 'health concerns' which meant it is 'extremely unlikely' that he would return to work in any event. Civil servant David Oatley, signing off on the decision on behalf of the education secretary Bridget Phillipson, said: 'A prohibition order would prevent Mr Wilson from teaching, were he able to return to work, and so clearly deprive the public of his contribution to the profession for the period that it is in force.' No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? 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