Old Cavendish Laboratory, Free School Lane, Cambridge Group 28 Sign up to our free email newsletter to receive the latest
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cancer and that surgeons had removed her eyeball, as well as having lied about a Cambridge education, has been banned from the classroom. Julianne Cox spent two-and-a-half years lying to colleagues, claiming doctors had removed her right eye and replaced it with a glass one due to cancer. The science teacher also forged signatures and medical reports to maintain her fabrications. Her lies escalated from claims her retina had been surgically removed, leaving her blind in her right eye in the process, to her entire eyeball being taken out and replaced with a prosthetic. She insisted this was due to eye cancer, and that she was undergoing chemotherapy post-surgery. St Helena School in Colchester, Essex, where she worked, even spent money on specialist equipment to help with her "vision issues". Fellow teaching staff only caught on to Ms Cox's lies when she stuck an out of date logo on a fake letter 'signed' by Colchester General Hospital's neurology department. Read more: Cambs man visited wartorn
Ukraine for dental work At a professional conduct panel hearing with the Teaching Regulation Agency (TRA) it was alleged that "Ms Cox was guilty of unacceptable professional conduct and/or conduct that may bring the profession into disrespute". This was related to various claims that "her retina had been surgically removed", she was undertaking chemotherapy, that her "right eye had been removed and replaced with a prosthetic eye", that she was undertaking more chemotherapy, "provided false information" in the form of a letter from the neurology department, gave "false information" to staff at Colchester Hospital, "stating that the school had arranged for her signature to be forged on a consent form for the release of a medical report", that she began working at another school while still under contract at St Helena, and that her conduct through these behaviours showed she "was dishonest and failed to act with integrity". Her deceit continued through the TRA's professional standards investigation seven years later. It was on day three of the hearing, which was held while Ms Cox was teaching at another school, when the science teacher submitted new 'evidence' she had a PhD from Cavendish College, Cambridge University. PhD from a college dissolved in 1892 The panel had "serious concerns as to the credibility" of Ms Cox's evidence. She "expressly stated" when questioned that she did not attend the University of Cambridge, while her evidence was that she completed her PhD at Cavendish College. The 'doctor' could not explain how she had managed that when Cavendish College, Cambridge, dissolved in 1892. The following day she changed her line to claim she studied at Cavendish Laboratory College, Cambridge, receiving her PhD transcript in 1995. However, the head of the 'Official Transcript' document was misspelled 'Offcial Transcript'. It was a document which stated it had been issued by the University of Cambridge. However this contradicted her earlier claims she had not attended the university as she was not "intelligent" enough and wouldn't be accepted. In light of the errors and inconsistencies, the panel questioned the document's authenticity. Errors included spelling mistakes, issues with the document's watermark and a reference to a
UK Governmnet department not in existence at the time the document was allegedly produced, as well as references to
American federal law. In evidence, Ms Cox admitted there were inconsistencies, but couldn't account for them. She made reference to her partner and suggested that he may have fraudulently created the document. Ms Cox didn't tell the panel, however, that she belived or suspected that her partner had tampered with the document when she asked for it to be admitted. She only made this claim when inconsistencies were put to her. One of several witness statements debunking Ms Cox's claims during her time at St Helena came from an anonymous individual who gave Ms Cox an eye test. They confirmed she had both eyes, her vision, and had not had surgery. When her lies were put under pressure, she regularly seemed to pass the blame onto her partner acting behind her back, and said they convinced her she had eye cancer. She blamed her behaviour on experiencing
racism from pupils, adding that staff jokes about her being "sensitive" about her race. This was never reported. Eventually, the teacher admitted she had never had eye surgery, cancer or chemotherapy. She told the TRA she thought she was telling the truth at the time and denied her behaviour was unprofessional. 'Continuing pattern of dishonest behaviour' In light of her apparent lack of remorse and persistent lying throughout the TRA hearing, the panel prohibited her indefinitely from teaching in any school, sixth form college, youth accommodation or children's home in
England. She cannot appeal the decision. The panel ruled that Ms Cox was not a credible witness during the proceedings, and noted inconsistencies in the oral and documnetary evidence she provided. A decision on behalf of the
Secretary of State said: "The panel finds that the conduxt of Ms Cox fell siginficantly short of the standards expected of the profession. "The findings of misconduct are particularly serious as they include a finding of dishonesty which involved providing false information to the school." A spokesperson said: "The panel was concerned that this demonstrated a continuing pattern of dishonest behaviour. Not only did this demonstrate a lack of insight and remorse, it also indicated to the panel that there was a ridk of repetition of similar misconduct in the future. The gravity of Ms Cox's misconduct meant that, in the panel's view, it amounted to fraud or serious dishonesty at the most serious end of the spectrum. "Of particular concern was the lack of insight and remorse Ms Cox showed at the hearing. Ms Cox had the benefit of some seven years to reflect on her behaviour and develop insight yet, despite this, she had failed to demonstrate sufficient insight and remose at the hearing, and went so far as to provide what the panel considered to be dishonest evidence. "The panel was concerned that a longer review period would be unlikely to assist Ms Cox in developing insight." The panel also said they had to consider "public confidence in the profession" which "could be seriously weakened" if behaviour such as Ms Cox's "was not treated with the utmost seriousness". Repeated lies It was July 16, 2015, where the lies began. Ms Cox claimed in a risk assessment she had an eye surgery scheduled a week later. In another risk assessment on October 5 that year, Ms Cox claimed she had cancer in her right eye, and the summer surgery removed her retina. By April 28, 2016, the science teacher emailed staff she was undergoing chemotherapy and that the treatment for "malign tissue around surgery scars" would last between six and 18 months. During a meeting on July 20, 2016, with an individual member of school staff, whose name has been redacted, and another unnamed individual, Ms Cox informed the school her right eye had been removed. Specialist equipment was bought by the school two months later, and the month after that she emailed two members of staff to say her chemotherapy had resumed. Document forgery began by November 1, 2016, when Ms Cox sent the school a letter purporting to be sent by Colchester General Hospital. Though she only passed it on in November, the forged letter was dated after she told the school surgeons had removed her retina. Colchester General Hospital's neurology department insisted it never sent the letter, and a member of staff remarked the signatory logo had not been used for several months. A staff meeting was called, during which Ms Cox could not explain the letter but consented to a medical record check. During the conversation Ms Cox "became unwell" and did not return to work. Two weeks after the forged letter, the science teacher was placed on medical suspension because her records did not stack up, the report said it was "on the basis that the lack of information provided by Ms Cox in form of medical evidence meant that the school could not understand her conditions, namely her eye condition [or] cancer treatment". On the same day, Ms Cox phoned Colchester General Hospital claiming hthe school forged her signature releasing her medical records. As an investigation began, Ms Cox resigned with immediate effect. Between the date marked on her resignation letter, and the date it arrived a week later, Ms Cox had started a new
Job more than 60 miles away at The Bridge Academy, in Hackney. Contractually she was still employed by St Helena. It was later revealed she disclosed nothing about her alleged partial blindness and missing eye to The Bridge Academy. Discipline hearings were set up by St Helena, but Ms Cox did not attend, and staff wrote to her to say she would have been sacked even if she didn’t resign. Two months after her sudden job change Essex
police launched a fraud investigation. In police interviews the science teacher continued to weave questionable tales, denying she told the school she had eye cancer, claiming her own signature had been forged in letter to the school, and making up that she had eye cancer as a child. Read next: Cambridge Boat Race captain hails brother's risky move 'that won the race' First Konik pony foal of the year born at Wicken Fen Nature Reserve Shops and restaurants that have come and gone in Cambridge since lockdown Three slapped with
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