Beverley Dunnage

Introduction

Beverley Jane Dunnage is a former Head of Year 8 and Boarding Housemistress at St George’s School in Ascot, Berkshire, who was convicted of sexual activity with a child and banned from teaching for life. Dunnage, born in 1974, was sentenced to 45 months’ imprisonment at Taunton Crown Court in July 2024 for two counts of sexual activity with a child. In February 2026 a Teaching Regulation Agency (TRA) panel recommended, and the Secretary of State imposed, a prohibition order with no review period — with the added bar that she may never apply for restoration of her eligibility to teach.

Background Information

Dunnage joined St George’s School, an independent boarding school, on 1 January 2023 as Head of Year 8 and Boarding Housemistress for Upper Sixth — a role combining pastoral authority over pupils with residential supervision. On 31 May 2024, it was alleged that she had been drinking alcohol with Person A that night and incited Person A to engage in sexual activity with her, conduct another person allegedly witnessed and recorded on video and in photographs. She was reported to Avon and Somerset Police and arrested; on 3 June 2024 the Local Authority Designated Officer informed the school of her arrest. Her employment was terminated on 12 July 2024.

The Controversy or Incident That Led to Their Cancellation

Adjudicated vs. alleged. The conviction at the centre of this case is a court-record fact: on 25 July 2024, Taunton Crown Court convicted Dunnage of two counts of sexual activity with a child, and she admitted in a signed statement of agreed facts that the conviction was of a relevant offence. The 31 May 2024 events as described in the decision include allegations — such as the recorded video — that recount why she was reported; the conviction itself stands as proven fact.

On 25 July 2024, Taunton Crown Court convicted Dunnage of two counts of sexual activity with a child, contrary to the Sexual Offences Act 2003, and sentenced her to a total of 45 months’ imprisonment. The TRA case was processed on papers: the panel met virtually on 10 February 2026 without a hearing at Dunnage’s own request, considered her statement of agreed facts signed on 20 December 2025, and accepted the certificate of conviction as conclusive proof. She admitted the allegation and that it amounted to a conviction of a relevant offence.

The panel found 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”, and noted that her actions raised “obvious and significant public and child protection concerns”. It recorded that in a handwritten note of March 2025 Dunnage had accepted she would “never be able to teach again”, but observed that beyond that acceptance it had “limited evidence of any further insight and/or remorse or the impact that this had had on the child involved”. She attributed the offences to being distraught after an argument.

Public Reaction and Consequences

The consequences moved through three systems within seven weeks of the report: arrest, termination of employment on 12 July 2024, and conviction on 25 July 2024 with a near-four-year prison sentence. The custodial term shaped the regulatory outcome — the panel found “the gravity of the offending which resulted in a term of imprisonment was so serious that this was relevant” to refusing any review period. The decision maker placed “considerable weight” on the panel’s finding about the duty-of-care breach and on the continuing impact on the victim.

Current Status

The panel’s determination is dated 10 February 2026 and the Secretary of State’s decision, by Stuart Blomfield, is dated 12 February 2026: a prohibition order with no provision for a review period, meaning it cannot be revisited on any fixed timetable. Because of the seriousness of the conviction, Blomfield also decided that Dunnage “shall not be entitled to apply for restoration of her eligibility to teach” — a permanent bar on seeking reinstatement. She remains prohibited from teaching indefinitely. The decision was published on GOV.UK on 25 February 2026.

Impact on Their Career/Life

A career built around pastoral care in boarding schools ended in a cell: 45 months’ imprisonment, dismissal, and a lifetime ban that forecloses even a future application to teach again. The panel’s account of her own words — that she accepted she would “never be able to teach again” — proved accurate. The decision notes she gave limited evidence of insight into the effect on the child involved, a gap that outlasted her apology.

Sources

• Teaching Regulation Agency, “Teacher misconduct panel outcome: Ms Beverley Dunnage,” published 25 February 2026 — source