A MINEHEAD teacher has been banned from the profession for at least two years for telling racist jokes to pupils. Stephen Parnell, formerly of Minehead Middle School, was found guilty of unacceptable professional conduct by England's General Teaching Council (GTC) at a hearing in Birmingham last week. The council heard that on April 22 last year Mr Parnell was one of 12 teachers escorting 150 year eight pupils by foot to a performance of Macbeth at the West Somerset Community College. Walking a short way behind him was teacher Tony Bailey who overheard Mr Parnell telling jokes to a pupil. Mr Bailey told the council: "What drew my attention was the use of the word 'Paki'. Mr Parnell seemed to find the jokes amusing and was laughing loudly." He said he had considered confronting Mr Parnell and the pupil, who were both telling jokes, but decided instead to report the matter to the deputy headteacher as he did not want the situation to become "inflamed". Mr Bailey said he felt "uncomfortable" as a particular pupil - only known as pupil D - had been walking beside him and overheard the racist jokes. Headteacher Paul Rushforth told the hearing that Mr Bailey had come to see him later that day to express his "disappointment" and "disgust" at what he had heard. He then interviewed a student - known only as pupil C - who told him Mr Parnell had told a joke about drowning, which was overheard by others and found to be racist. Another joke had begun "What do you call a nigger in a freezer?" Another pupil said Mr Parnell used the words "Paki" and "black magic" while talking to another of the children. A further pupil confirmed Mr Parnell had told the joke about drowning. Pupil D was "angry" about what he had heard and recalled jokes about drowning and black magic but was not sure whether he had heard then coming from Mr Parnell or the other pupil. Mr Rushforth then conducted an investigatory meeting with Mr Parnell to ask him about the allegations. Mr Parnell claimed the boy was not "run of the mill" and he used jokes which he had remembered from when "he was young" as a means of developing a relationship with him. Mr Parnell told Mr Rushforth: "That's the way I am. That's the way I deal with a 13-year-old boy." He then recounted the content of one joke - "Why aren't Pakis very good at football? Because when they get a corner they open a shop on it." Mr Parnell also recounted a joke about Irish people to Mr Rushforth and claimed as an Irish person he was not offended by the content of the joke. He admitted his comments were "on the edge" but claimed it was about "pushing the boundaries". However, he later said he wished he had not told the joke to the boy. Mr Rushforth said Mr Parnell had made no attempt to stop the jokes, had encouraged them by laughing and made it worse by telling jokes of his own. He said Mr Parnell should have challenged the children about the jokes and claimed his actions amounted to gross misconduct. Mr Parnell, who did not attend the hearing in Birmingham, was found to have made inappropriate comments of a racial nature to pupils. He was also found guilty of encouraging and listening to inappropriate comments and jokes of a racial nature with pupils at the school. The GTC made a prohibition order banning Mr Parnell from teaching. He will not be allowed to re-apply for registration with the GTC for a period of two years. This week chairman of Minehead Middle School's governors, Simon Stokes, confirmed Mr Parnell had not been sacked but had left his job voluntarily while the investigation was on-going. Mr Stokes said: "As Mr Parnell resigned during the process and before the investigation was complete it would be inappropriate for me to comment on it." However, in a statement to the Free Press, Somerset's county education officer Jon Rose said the tough line taken by the GTC clearly demonstrated how seriously the issue of racism was taken in schools. He said: "All of our students, regardless of their racial background, have the right to receive the excellent education provision provided by the school in an atmosphere of tolerance and inclusion. "Where instances occur where this is not the case, the local education authority will look to act decisively by taking appropriate disciplinary action and, if appropriate, referring to the GTC as we did in this instance."