Teacher Bronwen James says pupil lied about sex 'to look cool'

Key Points:

• Bronwen James, a PE teacher from Chippenham, Wiltshire, denies allegations of sexual activity with a 16-year-old pupil at Bitterne Park School in Southampton, claiming the boy fabricated the story to appear "cool" to his friends.
• James admitted the pupil visited her home briefly but insisted it was only to use the toilet and drop off her dog before she gave him a lift home, denying any sexual contact or flirtatious messaging.
• The boy accused James of grooming and exchanging flirtatious messages before having sex multiple times, but James said the messaging was infrequent and happened after he was no longer her student.
• James acknowledged previously receiving a warning for using her personal phone to communicate with pupils and admitted in hindsight she should not have accepted the pupil's friend request on Snapchat.
• She explained inconsistencies in her statements to police by saying she wanted to avoid escalating the situation, continued communication because she "wanted to be liked," and offered explanations for the presence of her passport photo on the boy's phone.