Teacher at London private school banned after admitting to crystal meth use
Unbiased summary
Charles Miles, 64, a teacher at Dwight School in north London for nearly 40 years, was banned from teaching indefinitely by a Teaching Regulation Agency panel. The ban followed police discovery of his crystal meth use in November 2024, after he reported water bulging at his home. Miles admitted using the drug, saying he was not addicted and used it to relax on weekends. The school reported him to the TRA, and a panel ruled he committed serious misconduct, citing limited insight and remorse. Miles retired at the end of the 2025 school year but can apply for the ban to be reviewed in five years. No harm to students was reported.
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Coverage by outlet
The Mirror
centre-left
Angle
This outlet frames the story with a sympathetic tone toward the teacher, emphasising his own justification and the absence of harm to children.
Bias
The Mirror gives substantial space to Miles's claims that his use was 'pretty controlled' and for relaxation, and explicitly notes there was no report of harm to children. It downplays the seriousness of ongoing class A drug use by a teacher and omits the elite fee context, instead focusing on his long service and personal rationale. This strays moderately from neutral by prioritising his perspective over the professional conduct ruling.
The Independent
centre-left
Angle
This outlet emphasises the elite, high-fee nature of the school, framing the story as a contrast between privilege and drug use.
Bias
The Independent repeatedly highlights the £37,500 fees and the school's international prestige, and uses terms like 'top private school'. It downplays Miles's own claims of control by reporting them without commentary, and omits his retirement detail, leaving the impression he was actively removed. The focus on the school's cost and status adds a class-based angle, straying from neutral by making the school's wealth a central narrative device.
Daily Mail
right
Angle
This outlet uses sensational language and moral outrage, framing the teacher as an abuser of drugs at a prestigious school.
Bias
The Daily Mail substitutes the neutral 'used' with 'abused' and 'doped', and repeatedly mentions the high fees to amplify shock value. It downplays any possibility of controlled use by omitting his 'relax' claim almost entirely, instead focusing on the addictive nature of meth. It omits that he retired voluntarily and any context about his long service, presenting him as a secret user. This strays far from neutral by employing pejorative vocabulary and emphasising the scandalous side.
GB News
right
Angle
This outlet adopts a mocking tone, highlighting the absurdity of using meth to relax at a 'posh' school, and adds personal details to belittle the teacher.
Bias
GB News uses the word 'posh' and mentions Miles's side hobby as an 'amateur poet' to paint him as eccentric or foolish. It frames his statements with 'claimed' and 'insisted' to cast doubt, while omitting his retirement and the lack of harm to children. The focus on fees and his personal life adds a mocking element, straying from neutral by injecting opinion and editorialising beyond the facts.