Teacher Charged with Engaging in Relations with 14-Year-Old Student Claims She Struggled to 'Say No' and Sought Approval

A TEACHER accused of having sex with a pupil has told a court she wanted to be liked and found it hard saying “no”.

Bronwen James, 30, allegedly had sex with the 16-year-old up to four times after they began messaging on .

Winchester Crown heard she was teaching PE at Bitterne Park School in Southampton, Hants, at the time of the alleged offences.

Giving evidence, James told a jury she felt she was immature, easily influenced and very lenient with pupils.

But she denied flirting with the teen and having sex with him – claiming the boy made up the allegations to look “cool” in front of his mates.

James also said she began teaching aged just 21 and described herself as “immature” and conceded she did not think she was a good teacher.

She said: “I just don’t think I was ready for it. As my career progressed, I realised maybe I was seeking validation from the wrong people.

“I think I was a very lenient teacher, I was not strict, there were behaviour policies I would not necessarily follow, such as using mobile phones in lessons.

“But I did not want to upset them, I did not want to anger them. I wanted them to like me.”

James suggested leaving her phone on her desk while she was teaching in class may have given the teenager an opportunity to get access to her Snapchat account and they exchanged some messages.

But she told the jury it was only “brief” conversations and not constant exchanges.

Heather Stangoe, defending, asked James why she had communicated with a student when she knew this was against the rules as a teacher.

James said: “I think I wanted to be liked. I did not want to let people down. I was easily influenced.

“I found it hard to say ‘no’ to people I wanted to please.”

The defendant admitted there was “banter” with pupils in her class, but said it was never of a sexual nature.

And she denied “flirting” with the teenager or supplying him vapes and said an occasion when he allegedly slapped her bottom never happened.

But she admitted later lying to police, claiming he had never visited her home in Fareham as she did not want the situation to “blow up”.

She told the jury she was out walking her dog and the teenager messaged her asking for a lift home.

James said she agreed as it was on the way to her home and picked the youngster up in her car.

But she said she drove to her house first to drop the dog off and use the toilet, before taking him home and dropping him off.

She maintained no sex took place and he remained downstairs.

Edward Culver, prosecuting, suggested she gave the boy a lift because she had flirted with him and said he was able to provide police with an accurate sketch plan of her home upstairs because they had sex there.

He continued: “I suggest there’s a lot of mysteries in this case. It’s wholly implausible he was able to provide that plan unless he had been in your bedroom a number of times.

“It’s all explained by you having a relationship with him, having sexual activity with him. There’s no other plausible explanation.”

James replied: “It did not happen.”

The court previously heard James “flirted” with the boy before accepting his request to add her on Snapchat.

After exchanging messages, she drove him to Weston Shore, Southampton, where they parked and kissed in her car, it was said.

The pair then allegedly went back to James’ house where they had sex, which happened on three or four occasions.

Mr Culver said: “The tennis was on at . They began watching TV before kissing and touching each other.

“She took her clothes off and then he took his clothes off.”

Mr Culver said that the pair performed sex acts on each other before they had unprotected sex.

Jurors heard James allegedly told the boy she “loved him” and “wanted to move away” with him in daily messages.

The school was made aware of the apparent relationship when a student showed a teacher some messages between James and the boy.

Mr Culver said: “They suggested a sexually charged relationship, he was named as ‘number 8’ in the messages as a cover, him being the eighth man she had slept with.

“Her photo was visible on the phone screen.”

After the alleged offences were exposed, James was later spoken to by whilst under caution.

She prepared a statement claiming she had received communication from an unknown number, which turned out to be him, and suggested he was “being put up” to make these allegations by another student.

James, of Chippenham, , denies four charges of sexual activity with the boy.

The trial continues.