A former physical education teacher, Bronwen James, 30, has been found guilty of three counts of sexual activity with a 16-year-old student at Bitterne Park School in Southampton. The trial at Winchester Crown Court lasted several days, and after 12 hours of deliberation, the jury cleared her of one of the four charges. The case has raised concerns about the boundaries between teachers and students and the potential for abuse of power in educational settings. The incident came to light when another student showed a teacher some text messages that appeared to be exchanged between James and the complainant. The messages suggested a sexually-charged relationship, with the student referred to as "number 8" in the texts, indicating he was the eighth person she had been with. The messages included her photo, which was visible on the phone screen. During the trial, it was revealed that James had engaged in flirtatious behavior with the student in class before they began exchanging messages via Snapchat. They arranged for her to drive him to Weston Shore in Southampton, where they kissed in her car. Their relationship progressed to visiting James’s home, where they cuddled while watching Wimbledon on TV before moving to her bedroom, where they had sex. In a police interview shown to the court, the boy said he felt "groomed" by James. He described the experience as initially appealing but later realized it was wrong. He mentioned that James, whom he described as "quite attractive," would "slip him vapes" in his coursework and encouraged him to call her "Miss" when they were alone. James, who described herself as a "people pleaser," admitted to wanting to be liked and said she found it hard to say "no" to people she wanted to please. She denied "flirting" with the student or supplying him with vapes, and claimed an incident where he allegedly slapped her bottom never occurred. She also admitted lying to police about the student not visiting her home.