A housemistress has been indefinitely banned from teaching after she was found guilty of sexual offences against a child.
Ms Beverley Dunnage, 52, worked at St George’s School Ascot, an elite boarding school in Berkshire for girls, which charges £56k a year in fees and was previously attended by Princess Beatrice.
But she was dismissed from her job after being reported to police when it was alleged she engaged in sexual activity with a boy.
At Taunton Crown Court in July 2024, she was convicted of two counts of sexual offences with a minor and was sentenced to three years and nine months in prison.
At a professional conduct meeting, a panel was told Ms Dunnage, who as head of Year 8 and boarding house mistress for Year 13, had been drinking alcohol with the child outside of a school setting one night in May 2024, when she incited the boy to engage in sexual activity with her.
The Teaching Regulation Agency conduct panel said: “Her actions raised obvious and significant public and child protection concerns.”
The panel read evidence that showed the housemistress claimed she committed the offences “following an argument” that had left her “distraught and not thinking clearly”.
But The panel stated “her conduct ran counter to what should have been at the very core of her practice as a teacher with a duty of care towards children.”
It found that “Ms Dunnage’s actions were deliberate even though she had consumed alcohol at the time” and “there was no evidence to suggest that Ms Dunnage was acting under extreme duress”.
The panel, which found the conviction was fact, concluded that “there was a strong public interest consideration in respect of the safeguarding and wellbeing of pupils, given the serious findings of inappropriate relationships with children”.
The decision maker on behalf of the Secretary of State, Stuart Blomfield, banned Ms Dunnage from teaching indefinitely.
Mr Blomfield said: “In my judgement, the lack of full insight means that there is some risk of the repetition of this behaviour and this puts at risk the future wellbeing of pupils. I have therefore given this element considerable weight in reaching my decision.”
