In April 2017, Peter Goldsmith, a former teacher at Gable Hall and
Westcliff High School for Boys, admitted to downloading
child abuse images. He pled guilty to three charges in exchange for avoiding jail time. Principal Sophina Asong made a statement in response in which it was reassured that the school knew there were "no direct links to any of our students" and that it had been "working closely with the Local Authority Safeguarding Officer for Thurrock to ensure that provision is available to support our students and parents should any specific safeguarding concerns regarding this individual emerge at this point." In September 2021 a social media post about a teacher at the school allegedly calling
Year 11 students "retards", "cowards" and "chicken sh**s" in an assembly went viral. Principal Ceril Evans stated that "It has come to my attention that a member of my teaching staff has made derogatory comments to the cohort of Year 11 students. As a school, we do not tolerate or accept such behaviour." The teacher was then suspended, pending an investigation. In response, some parents and ex-pupils came to the teacher's defence and campaigned for his reinstatement. The students who reported him were called "
snowflakes" and "push buttons" and the teacher's suspension was lifted later that week. == Ortu Sixth Form Centre Stanford & Corringham ==