A married deputy headteacher at a top girls' grammar school has been banned from teaching after having a two-year sexual affair with an art teacher on school premises, sometimes while pupils were nearby. Liyarna Beamish, 39, and Gareth Collins, 45, engaged in sexual activities in locked cupboards and classrooms at Ribston Hall High School in Gloucestershire, including during the school day.
The Teaching Regulation Agency (TRA) found both guilty of “unacceptable professional conduct”. The pair admitted to the relationship, with Ms Beamish confirming it took place “during the school day and after school” on “multiple occasions” over “a couple of years”. Explicit sexual messages exchanged on encrypted apps helped expose the affair in June 2023.
TRA Panel Chair Laura Mullin said: “Ms Beamish expressly admitted that she had engaged in sexual activities and sexual intercourse on the school premises during working hours with a member of teaching staff.” She added: “The implications for any pupil who had discovered them could have been serious.” Mr Collins, who taught for 18 years, also admitted having sex “sporadically” in his classroom.
Both were dismissed in July 2024. The panel concluded their actions were sexually motivated and fell “significantly short” of professional standards. Ms Beamish defended herself by saying the messages were “private” and “encrypted”, while Mr Collins expressed “deep regret”. The regulator said both were seeking “sexual gratification” and that their misconduct was especially serious as it happened on school premises and during working hours.
Signing off the ban, civil servant David Oatley said: “The findings of misconduct are serious as they include a finding of engaging in sexual intercourse and/or activity with a colleague on school premises and during school hours.”
