Teacher who taught pupil racist 'rape' rhyme so he could remember lesson is guilty of misconduct

A supply teacher who taught a racist rhyme to a pupil - which included the vile phrase 'Black Boys Rape Our Young Girls' - has been found guilty of professional misconduct.

James Hersey, 68, taught the shocking mnemonic to a 16-year-old boy who was revising a wiring colour coding system for electronic resistors.

He taught the boy the ditty: 'Black Boys Rape Our Young Girls, But Virgins Go Without.' Each word represents the first letter of the colours in the code which are; black, brown, red, orange, yellow, green, blue, violet, grey and white.

Teacher James Hersey of Hove, East Sussex, holding a circuit board: He claims the rhyme he was taught in the 1950s helps to remember a colour coding system for resistors

When the Year 11 pupil asked for help in remembering the code, Mr Hersey wrote part of the rhyme down on a piece of paper and showed it to him.

Mr Hersey was sacked on the spot after the boy told another teacher what he had been taught.

He was found guilty of unacceptable professional misconduct because of the rhyme's 'racist and sexual content' by a disciplinary hearing of the General Teaching Council (GTC).

He was told the mnemonic was 'inappropriate in more enlightened times' and that it failed to 'demonstrate respect for diversity and promote equality'.

Mr Hersey, who attended the hearing in Birmingham on Thursday, was given a reprimand which will stay on his record for two years.

Chairman of the panel Paul Bird told him: 'Whilst teaching a Year 11 engineering lesson on Thursday 18 March 2010, you communicated a rhyme to Pupil A that was racist and inappropriately sexual.

'I am an old-fashioned teacher and what I told the pupil was a historical fact... Teachers nowadays are not allowed to teach. Political correctness has gone over the top,' said James Hersey

'The words intended to represent the resistor colour code are, on any reading, both racist and inappropriately sexual.

'The committee is concerned that Mr Hersey has demonstrated only partial insight into the inappropriateness of the 'rhyme' in the 21st century.'

The panel heard that Mr Hersey breached the Code of Conduct and Practice for Registered Teachers which states staff must 'demonstrate respect for diversity and promote equality'.

Mr Hersey has 28 days to appeal the ruling.

Speaking from his home in Hove, Brighton, Mr Hersey today defended his teaching method, saying it was 'a naughty saucy rhyme'.

He said: 'I am an old-fashioned teacher and what I told the pupil was a historical fact.

'I am not a racist or a sexist and I have taught pupils of all nationalities.

Supply: James Hersey was working at Oriel High School in Crawley, West Sussex when he taught the racist rhyme to a pupil

'The pupil I was helping with revision asked me how I remembered the code and I told him about a naughty saucy rhyme I was taught when I was at Brighton Polytechnic in the 1950s.

'The fact that the word black is in the rhyme is because that is the first colour in the code.

'I also have an issue with the GTC claiming the rhyme was somehow sexual because rape is not a sexual act.'

Grandfather-of-three Hersey, who worked as a supply teacher for 14 years before he was sacked last March, added: 'Teachers nowadays are not allowed to teach.

'Political correctness has gone over the top. Teachers are also treated like the lowest of the low while the kids can get away with murder.'

Mr Hersey said he had now decided to retire from teaching and had no intention of returning to the classroom.