UK teacher accused of exploiting trust for sexual relationship with teen student

A court heard a Southampton PE teacher allegedly formed a sexual relationship with a 16-year-old student. Prosecutors say the case centres on abuse of trust, while she denies the allegations.Bronwen James, 30, was teaching at Bitterne Park School in Southampton, Hampshire, when the alleged offences took place. (X/@MissJamesPE)A British physical education teacher is accused of engaging in a sexual relationship with a 16-year-old student and exploiting her position of trust. Bronwen James, 30, was teaching at Bitterne Park School in Southampton, Hampshire, when the alleged offences took place.She faces four counts of sexual activity with a child by a person in a position of trust and denies all the charges. At Winchester Crown Court on Thursday, prosecutor Edward Culver told jurors that James initially refused the teenager's attempt to add her on Snapchat before later accepting it. Their conversations became "flirtatious" and eventually led to the pair meeting outside school.Culver said James later drove the student to Weston Shore in Southampton, where they kissed inside her car. The prosecution alleges that James later took the teenager to her home, where the pair watched Wimbledon before the sexual encounter took place."The tennis was on at Wimbledon. They began watching TV before kissing and touching each other," Culver said. The court heard the pair had sexual encounter on three or four occasions and exchanged messages daily. TEENAGER SAYS HE WAS GROOMEDThe teenager told police he regularly called James "Miss", saying: "I always called her 'Miss', I don't know why, I think it was her little fantasy or something."The prosecution also alleged that James told the boy she loved him and wanted to move away with him. Culver said the teenager was initially excited about the relationship but later came to believe he had been groomed. "I thought she cared about me," he told the court. "I thought this was great, any teenage boy's dream, but I think it was wrong. At the time I wasn't thinking that."The relationship came to light in June 2022 after another student showed a teacher messages apparently exchanged between James and the teenager. Culver said the messages indicated a "sexually charged relationship" and that the boy had allegedly been referred to as "Number 8" as a cover.TEACHER DENIES SEXUAL RELATIONSHIPJames later gave police a prepared statement denying that the teenager had ever visited her home or that they had a sexual relationship. The court heard she claimed the allegations had been fabricated and that the boy had been "put up" to make them by another student.Prosecutors argue that James crossed professional boundaries and exploited her position as the teenager's teacher.- EndsPublished By: Satyam SinghPublished On: Sep 4, 2026 00:23 IST