Female PE teacher, 30, ‘had sex with pupil, 16, while they watched Wimbledon at her house and asked him to call her miss’ when they were together, court hears
A PE teacher told her Year 11 pupil to call her "miss" while they had sex, a jury has heard, as her trial began at Winchester Crown Court. Bronwen James, 30, from Chippenham, Wiltshire, denies four counts of sexual activity with a child by a person in a position of trust, allegedly exploiting her role at Bitterne Park School in Southampton to pursue a relationship with a then 16-year-old boy in her care.
Prosecutors say James became "flirtatious" with the boy after adding him on Snapchat, kissed him in her car near Weston Shore, and invited him to her house up to four times for sex, including once while watching Wimbledon on television. The boy told the court he was "groomed" but at the time thought the relationship was "great," describing how James allegedly slipped him vapes during lessons, told him she loved him, and once called him from her leavers' party. Prosecutors also allege James saved the boy in her phone as "Number 8," suggesting he was the eighth person she had slept with; James denies the relationship and claims the boy was "put up" to making the allegations.
- PE teacher, 30, denies having sex with 16-year-old pupil in her care.
- Boy says he was "groomed" but felt flattered at the time.
- Trial ongoing at Winchester Crown Court; James denies all four charges.
New here? Start with this
Bronwen James, a PE teacher at Bitterne Park School in Southampton, is on trial at Winchester Crown Court accused of having a sexual relationship with a pupil in her care. She denies four counts of sexual activity with a child by a person in a position of trust, an offence that applies to adults such as teachers who are deemed to hold authority over children under 18, even where the young person is above the general age of consent.
The case centres on a boy who was 16 and in Year 11 at the time, and who is now giving evidence about the relationship. Because James was his teacher, the law treats any sexual activity between them as a criminal offence regardless of the boy's own view of the relationship, which is why his account of how it began and developed is central to the trial.
The trial matters because it deals with the boundaries schools and the law place around relationships between staff and pupils, designed to protect children from adults who hold power over them. The jury's task is to weigh the boy's evidence against James's denial and decide whether the alleged conduct took place as described.