The 16-year old pupil's left ear was said to have "melted" and he suffered third degree burns after the teacher had tried to produce multi-coloured flames by using an explosive substance.
Instead the experiment produced a fireball which shot across the classroom and left student Alonzo Yanes writhing in agony.
Teacher Anna Poole, 31, who had no fire blanket or extinguisher to help the youngster, screamed: "Oh my God, I set a kid on fire", according to a damning report into the incident at the prestigious Beacon School, in New York.