Scott John Trigg-Turner, a 44-year-old teaching assistant and celebrated Welsh wheelchair rugby player, has been banned from working in classrooms for two years after a professional standards panel found he repeatedly lied to pupils and colleagues about his past, including extraordinary claims that he had killed more than 250 people as a military sniper. The Education Workforce Council Wales (EWC) delivered its verdict on December 9, 2025, after a hearing in Cardiff, concluding that Trigg-Turner had demonstrated what the chair described as "deep-seated attitudinal problems" through a pattern of sustained dishonesty.
According to BBC and The Telegraph, the saga began at Bassaleg School in Newport, South Wales, where Trigg-Turner was employed as a learning support assistant. In 2023, fellow staff member Sharon Davies became suspicious after hearing a series of tall tales that Trigg-Turner told to Year Eight pupils, including that he had served in the US marines under the codename "Kill Switch," still owned a gun, and had killed "in excess of 250 people." He also claimed to have been given an electric scooter while serving in the military, to be a lord and a peer, to have received an MBE, to have shaken hands with the King, and to have competed in the Paralympics.
Some of these stories, Davies noted, were easily disproven. For instance, Trigg-Turner boasted of serving in Northern Ireland during the Troubles, despite being too young to have done so. “I became suspicious after hearing him telling pupils he had served in Northern Ireland during the Troubles when he was too young to have done so,” Davies told the panel, as reported by The Telegraph.
Trigg-Turner, who uses a wheelchair and is a prominent international wheelchair rugby player for the Wigan Warriors and former Torfaen Tigers player, was not present at the disciplinary hearing and was not represented. He made no formal response to the allegations, but did submit an email to the EWC panel. In it, he maintained his innocence and insisted his comments had been misunderstood: “I have been diligent in my transparency in all interactions with pupils. I have never crossed professional boundaries and would never do so. I feel targeted and singled out. It is not fair to be singled out.”
During the school’s internal investigation, Trigg-Turner denied having a gun in his house or ever saying that he did. He claimed that any references to the military referred to family members, not himself, and that his comments to the class had been misinterpreted. Still, the EWC panel found these explanations inconsistent with the accounts of colleagues and students.
Notably, Trigg-Turner’s explanations about his own disability also varied over time. The panel heard that he had given colleagues inconsistent stories about how he came to be a wheelchair user, further undermining his credibility. In addition to his fabrications, he was found to have arrived late and left class early on several occasions without prior agreement, behavior that the panel viewed as unprofessional.
The EWC’s ruling was unambiguous. Panel chair Helen Beard-Robbins stated: "There is evidence of deep-seated attitudinal problems given the lies he told pupils, colleagues and his line manager." She also described his lapses as “sustained and deliberate,” according to The Telegraph. The panel concluded that Trigg-Turner’s conduct had crossed professional boundaries and undermined the trust placed in him as an educator.
As a result, Trigg-Turner was struck off the EWC register in both the school and further education college categories. He is barred from applying for reinstatement for two years and has the right to appeal the decision to the High Court within 28 days. His subsequent employment at Cardiff and Vale College, after leaving Bassaleg School, was also noted during the hearing, but the panel’s findings related specifically to his conduct at Bassaleg.
The case has drawn attention not only for the scale of Trigg-Turner’s fabrications but also for the challenges faced by schools in verifying staff credentials and safeguarding students from misinformation. While the vast majority of educators are dedicated professionals, this incident has highlighted the importance of thorough vetting and ongoing oversight. The EWC’s decision underscores the expectation that those in positions of trust must be held to the highest standards of honesty and integrity.
Trigg-Turner’s background as a wheelchair rugby athlete had made him a prominent figure in Welsh sports circles. He played for the Wigan Warriors wheelchair rugby league team and previously for the Torfaen Tigers, earning respect for his athletic achievements. Yet, as the panel noted, his sporting accomplishments did not excuse the misconduct described during the hearing.
The panel’s ruling has sent ripples through the education sector in Wales, prompting renewed discussion about the pressures faced by support staff and the risks of unchecked storytelling in school environments. According to the BBC, the EWC panel emphasized that Trigg-Turner’s actions were not isolated slips but part of a broader pattern: “There is evidence of deep seated attitudinal problems given the lies he told pupils, colleagues and his line manager.”
For students and staff at Bassaleg School, the revelations have been unsettling. The stories reportedly told by Trigg-Turner—about killing hundreds as a sniper, meeting royalty, and serving in elite military units—were not only improbable but, in the panel’s view, damaging to the trust and safety expected in educational settings. “He has made no formal response to the allegations,” the BBC noted, underscoring his absence from the process and the seriousness with which the panel treated the matter.
Trigg-Turner’s case is a reminder that, while most who work in schools do so with honesty and dedication, lapses in truthfulness can have far-reaching consequences. The EWC’s decision to ban him for two years, with the possibility of appeal, reflects both the gravity of his misconduct and the council’s commitment to upholding standards in Welsh education.
As the dust settles, the education community in Wales is left to reflect on the lessons of this unusual case. For now, the message from regulators is clear: honesty and transparency are non-negotiable for those entrusted with the care and guidance of young people.