A look back at disgraced head teacher’s spectacular downfall

This time two years ago, things looked ever so different for the now disgraced former head teacher Greg Hill.He was still in charge at Howard Junior School in Gaywood, regularly organising stunts such as changing its name to honour England striker Harry Kane during the 2022 World Cup.Widely considered to be eccentric and yet enthusiastic, he was enjoying a career which also saw him serve as director of the Apollo Academies Trust which ran the school.

But everything began to crash and burn when, in early March 2023, Hill was arrested outside his school on suspicion of stalking a junior staff member.Body-worn footage from police officers showed the dramatic events that unfolded – Hill repeatedly resisted arrest, comparing his treatment to “George Floyd in America”.This week, his fall from grace continued as he was jailed for the third time in less than a year. Here is a timeline of Hill’s journey from passionate head teacher to a humiliated prisoner…March 2023 Hill was apprehended at Howard Junior School in the morning of March 6.

After a lengthy attempt to place him in a police vehicle, officers transported him to the Lynn Police Investigation Centre for questioning.A school statement said: “We are working with the police to ensure the matter is dealt with as quickly and as smoothly as possible.”All children are expected to attend school, to continue to receive the high quality education which Howard is renowned for.” The last part of that statement would later come back to haunt the school.Hill would later launch a complaint against Norfolk Police, claiming he was “piled onto” by officers, that he was unable to breathe, and that he was left with injuries.April 2023An emergency Ofsted inspection at the Gaywood school found it to be ‘inadequate’. Inspectors discovered “serious failings” which they said had been “unchallenged for too long”.A report said that “the trustees and members who are meant to check that children are safe do not always do so”.

Ofsted rated Howard Junior School ‘good’ for behaviour and attitudes, but ‘requires improvement’ for the quality of education and personal development, and ‘inadequate’ for leadership and management.May 2023The school received a termination warning notice from the Department for Education. It was later transferred into the Eastern Multi-Academy Trust.While these matters were ongoing, Hill was being re-bailed over his alleged offences.August 2023Hill, already long suspended from his head teacher role, was eventually charged with committing harassment without violence, as well as resisting arrest. The harassment offence related to his treatment of a trainee teacher who worked under him between March 2022 and his original arrest.October 2023Hill was handed a trial date for summer 2024 after making his first appearance in court.He denied both charges, and was released on conditional bail. June 2024Hill’s trial got under way, with the court hearing he committed a “classic abuse of power” by exerting his position over a 23-year-old trainee.

She was left feeling “petrified”, “vulnerable” and “fuming”, alleging that her boss listened into her conversations at school, declared his love for her and took photographs of her car while she was celebrating her brother’s birthday.The victim was first hired at Howard Junior School in September 2021 as a newly-qualified staff member.Hill would claim she reciprocated his romantic feelings – but his evidence was not deemed credible. Dramatic footage which captured Hill’s arrest was also played, showing him shouting: “This is like George Floyd in America.”He became emotional and had to leave the courtroom.July 2024Hill was found guilty of all offences by District Judge Christopher Williams. Despite the verdict, he continued to plead his innocence while sitting in the dock.The judge said that Hill’s evidence throughout the trial was “inconsistent” and that he was a “difficult witness”.Just one week later, he was remanded in custody for more than two weeks after breaching his bail conditions.August 2024The now disgraced teacher was jailed for 20 weeks for his offences.

He was also made the subject of a four-year restraining order to prevent him from contacting his victim directly or indirectly, as well as a four-year stalking prevention order.Just weeks later, he faced three new charges of causing annoyance, inconvenience or needless anxiety by sending persistent online messages to three people.The victims were Daniel Lambert, a senior Ofsted inspector, Paul Shanks, the CEO of the Eastern Multi-Academy Trust, and Philip Bugg, the vice principal of King’s Lynn Academy.October 2024Hill was jailed again and ordered to pay compensation after his persistent messages to the education bosses.His 12-week custodial sentence was to be served at the same time as his original jail term.Meanwhile, fresh allegations came to light which suggested that he had behaved inappropriately around numerous female teachers over a number of years.One 26-year-old who worked at the Gaywood school in 2019 said Hill had “imagined her in a bikini”.January 2025Hill was remanded in custody once again after being charged with breaching his restraining order.He pleaded guilty to two counts of the offence, which related to the posting of photographs on social media – something he was prohibited from doing under the order.He will now face six more months behind bars for each count, to run concurrently.Hill is no longer an employee of Howard Junior School or the Eastern Multi-Academy Trust.