1st Oct 2026

Bronwen James, now aged 30, of Chippenham in Wiltshire qualified as a teacher in West Sussex. She joined Bitterne Park school in September 2019 as a PE teacher where she remained for three years. In September 2022 she worked at Hardenhuish School in Chippenham.

During her time as a teacher, she targeted three teenage students, two girls and a boy.  Two of the pupils were students at Bitterne Park, the third girl was a pupil at Hardenhuish School.

Brownwen James engaged in a flirtatious relationship with the boy before engaging in communications via Snapchat. They then had sexual intercourse at her home three or four times. Initially the teenage boy thought that James cared about him, but later realised it was wrong.

James was convicted at Winchester Crown Court in September 2026 of three counts of sexual activity with a child by a person in a position of trust in relation to the teenage boy.

James was initially charged with nine offences against the two teenage girls, including six counts of engaging in sexual activity with a child, two counts of engaging in sexual communication with a child and one count of making an indecent image of a child. James had already pleaded guilty to those charges in January 2026, but due to reporting restrictions, the jury in the second trial relating to the boy were not told about those offences until they passed their verdict.

It is clear that James abused her position of trust and demonstrated a pattern of predatory behaviour towards her pupils. This was not an isolated incident or a lapse in her judgement, but a pattern of sexual abuse. She has exploited her role as a teacher in a position of authority.

Our expertise

Samantha Robson, who has specialised in historic and current sexual abuse claims over the past 25 years, has successfully brought numerous high-profile claim against former teachers who have sexually abused pupils under their care.  The principle of vicarious liability is now well established.  A convicted teacher who steps beyond that role within the context of their job will in all likelihood lead to a successful civil claim by their victim/s against the authority who employs them.

Sam comments, “Abuse by female teachers is not unheard of.  There are many misconceptions and stereotypes about female perpetrators which may discourage victims from coming forward”.  Former teacher and home tutor Deborah Franklin was jailed for 7 years this week at St Albans Crown Court for historic sexual abuse in relation to a boy who she tutored in the 1990’s.  The trial of a former history teacher at London Southbank University Academy is due to start next week at the Inner London Crown Court. Julia Yeates has been accused of abusing a position of trust by engaging in sexual activity with a child and engaging in communication with a child. Yeates faces 9 sex offence charges in relation to school boys.

In relation to Bronwen James’s victims, credit must be given to these young people coming forward following their abusive experiences. Many survivors of sexual abuse are unable to confront what has happened until years later, often  burying the memories of their trauma. Sexual abuse is known to cause deep rooted and enduring psychological issues.  Part of our role in bringing compensation claims is to ensure those affected by the trauma of sexual abuse have access to specialist counselling. EMDR, CBT and psychotherapy can be very expensive to access privately. Here at Robson Shaw, part of our role as specialist solicitors is to ensure our clients are properly compensated for their losses suffered as a consequence of these types of claims.

Contact us

If you would like to receive confidential and expert advice about your potential claim on a no obligation basis, please contact us at [email protected], or email Sam direct on [email protected]. We can be contacted at any time and offer a 24/7 service to our clients. Or call us on 01392345333.

Category: Schools