Disgraced headmaster who sent dozens of ‘inappropriate’ Instagram messages to a female student is to open a £12,500-a-year online school
- Toby Belfield was sacked by Ruthin School in Denbighshire, Wales, in February
- He had sent Instagram posts to Cat Hughes, 15, giving the pupil ‘nightmares’
- Belfield admitted that some of the messages he sent to her were inappropriate
- Governors sacked him in February but he’s set to open Cambridge School Online
A disgraced headmaster who bombarded a female pupil with ‘inappropriate’ messages is setting up a £12,500-a-year online school.
Toby Belfield, 47, was sacked by Ruthin School in Denbighshire, North Wales, after sending dozens of Instagrams to 15-year-old Cat Hughes – giving her ‘nightmares’.
He has spoken about the allegations that saw him forced out of his job at the £35,000-a-year school, admitting some of the messages were inappropriate.
Toby Belfield (left), 47, was sacked by Ruthin School in Denbighshire, North Wales, after sending dozens of Instagrams to 15-year-old Cat Hughes (right) – giving her ‘nightmares’
Belfield said: ‘I am biding my time to tell my side of the story, as what I’ve seen so far has been very one-sided.
‘I wasn’t allowed to talk at the time, as legally I couldn’t as I was still an employee of Ruthin School.
‘I don’t agree with a lot that has been written about me, and I don’t think it was a fair representation of what happened. The truth will be told and not just speculation.’
Belfield was sacked by the school’s governors in February but plans to open his new venture Cambridge School Online.
He has spoken about the allegations that saw him forced out of his job at the £35,000-a-year school, admitting some of the messages (pictured) were inappropriate
It ‘provides a British education to students around the world, enabling them to enter top UK Universities’.
Its website adds: ‘Students study in their own countries, using the latest technology, alongside support and tuition from our experienced teachers.’
On the site, Belfield says he has ‘spent over 20 years educating some of the best students in the world, with hundreds of them going to a university ranked in the top 10 in the UK’.
He adds: ‘But, these former students have all been lucky enough to be able to travel to the UK for their high school studies.
Belfield was sacked by Ruthin School (pictured) governors in February but plans to open his new venture Cambridge School Online
‘I now wish to help those students who wish to remain in their own countries for high school, but who ultimately still want to attend a top ranking university in the UK.’
The former headmaster told North Wales Live: ‘I’m moving on with my life. I see this as an opportunity to do something else.
‘I’m glad I turned Ruthin School around, but I’m sorry that the current staff and the pupils will have been rocked by what has happened and I wish them all the best.
‘I turned that school during the past decade, from being under threat of closure to one of the best school’s for A-level results in the country, and I could do it all over again.’
Belfield was sacked after the Welsh government warned the school could lose its registration and be shut down if it did not address concerns.
These centred on child protection raised in the wake of the messages between Belfield and 15-year-old pupil Cat Hughes.
In the messages, Belfield boasted about his seniority and said ‘flirting is fine,’ sent love hearts and emojis and commented on the size of TV star Rachel Riley’s breasts.
He said he liked women ‘small and petite’ and asked one student if she had an eating disorder because she was a ‘thin girl’ before going on to tell her she looked good.
Asked today if he recognised that any of the messages were inappropriate, he said: ‘Yes, I can see some of them were.’
But he added: ‘There is no reason why I should not be able to continue in this field.’