A married deputy headteacher at a top girls' grammar school has been banned from teaching after having sex with a colleague in locked cupboards and classrooms, sometimes while pupils were nearby. Liyarna Beamish, 39, and art teacher Gareth Collins, 45, engaged in a two-year affair at Ribston Hall High School in Gloucestershire, regularly meeting for sex in the art room and supply cupboards, including during the school day.
Both have now been banned from teaching for “unacceptable professional conduct”. In damning findings by the Teaching Regulation Agency (TRA), the pair admitted to the sexual 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 between the two on encrypted apps helped expose the affair in June 2023. Investigators were told how they would lock themselves in rooms to avoid being seen. 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 with Ms Beamish “sporadically” in his classroom over several years. Both were dismissed in July 2024.
The TRA panel concluded their actions were sexually motivated and said the pair fell “significantly short” of professional standards. Ms Beamish defended herself by saying the messages were “private” and “encrypted”. Mr Collins, when confronted, admitted to the affair and 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.”
