Supply teacher called pupils 'Ching and Chong' and told African student 'back when he was younger he wouldn't be allowed in the classroom'

A supply teacher who told an African pupil that 'back when he was younger he wouldn't be allowed in the classroom' has been banned from the profession. Anton Van Der Watt, 66, called two other Chinese pupils 'ching' and 'chong', and threatened others, including telling one he would 'rip their vocal chords out and feed them to the lions'.He also threatened to mark down in the register children who needed to be hit and told another student: 'Do you want to go home on crutches? I will break your leg' on his first day covering lessons at a school in Cheshire. He was sent home early on April 24 after just three lessons at Brine Leas School in Nantwich after pupils raised concerns with senior staff.Mr Van Der Watt has now been banned from teaching indefinitely after being found guilty of unacceptable professional conduct.A teaching panel found his conduct 'fell significantly short of the standards expected of the profession'.It said he failed to maintain appropriate professional boundaries with pupils and used threatening and discriminatory language. Anton Van Der Watt was sent home early on April 24 after just three lessons at Brine Leas School in Nantwich after pupils raised concerns with senior staff.The tribunal heard he had worked as a supply teacher through supply agency Simply Education between January 2019 and April 24, 2025.On April 24, 2025, he went to Brine Leas School, a secondary school with around 1,400 pupils. Consequently, it was 'well-versed' with both supply teaching and dealing with poor behaviour from pupils, the tribunal heard. That same day, 'following complaints being made by the pupils, Mr Van Der Watt was sent home early by the school'.The tribunal heard 'pupils were each requested to provide a handwritten account of what they alleged to have happened'.The accounts included a number of allegations about Mr Van Der Watt's conduct, from racism to physical violence.One pupil described how he was 'in shock' when Mr Van Der Watt 'put his fist' on Pupil A's neck and 'dug me into the chair'.The pupil said: 'I did not know what to do. He then pinched me in the neck. It did hurt.'We were being pressed into the chair. I was having to lean forward as he pinched my neck with his fingers.'Pupil A stated that there was a red mark on his neck where Mr Van Der Watt had placed his fingers.When he was asked to provide an account of what had happened, Mr Van Der Watt responded in an email confirming that, 'the incident took place as described, although I am unaware that it left a red mark on the student's neck.' Mr Van Der Watt said he had been talking about his background and the students had asked him to demonstrate how to control boys who acted aggressively. Two other pupils made similar accusations of physical violence against the supply teacher, including that he 'punched' one student on the shoulder.He asked the same student: 'Do you want to go home on crutches? I will break your leg.'He continued to 'demonstrate aggressive behaviour' by 'pressing his fists' into the desks and hitting the desks with a ruler.He threatened the class, telling them to 'shut up' and that he would 'rip their vocal chords out and feed them to the lions'.Mr Van Der Watt also kept a 'register of who needed to be hit' and 'verbally abused two students of Chinese origin' by calling them 'ching' and 'chong' on the register.He told these students 'we know what your real name is'.He mentioned that 'people of colour would not be allowed on trains and buses' when he was younger, and even told a pupil of African origin that 'when he was younger, he would not have been allowed in his classroom'.The teacher was also accused of banging a wooden ruler on desks and making aggressive gestures towards children.He was later reported to Cheshire Police but no action was taken, the Teaching Regulation Agency hearing was told. In an email to the supply agency he apologised for much of his behaviour. He said: 'I am very disappointed and apologetic about the whole incident and feel that I let myself and the profession down by allowing the boys to convince me into demonstrating in a light-hearted manner a way to defuse a potential dangerous situation by using relationships, trust and humour.'I definitely had no intention to harm a young person in any shape or form and want my sincere apology be communicated with the student involved.'Each of these allegations, which were found proven by the professional tribunal, occurred on the same day – which was Mr Van Der Watt's first day at the school.Panel chair Sue Davies told the hearing: 'Whilst the events occurred on one day in April 2025, such events took place over three separate periods.'They also involved inappropriate physical contact, verbally aggressive behaviour, and discriminatory language.'The panel considered that public confidence in the profession could be seriously weakened if conduct such as that found against Mr Van Der Watt were not treated with the utmost seriousness when regulating the conduct of the profession.'Mr Van Der Watt, who was said to be genuinely remorseful, cannot apply to teach again until October 2029.Signing off on the ban, civil servant Marc Cavey said: 'I am particularly mindful of the finding of a teacher using threatening and discriminatory language towards pupils in this case and the negative impact that such a finding is likely to have on the reputation of the profession.'