A female teacher who had sex three times with a 15-year-old student has escaped being sent to jail.

The South Australian District Court today accepted Bridget Mary Nolan, 25, was genuinely remorseful for her crime, despite evidence her teenage victim's life had been destroyed.

Handing down a suspended prison sentence, Judge Gordon Barrett said Nolan's sacking as a teacher, and the considerable media publicity given to her case, had already served as considerable punishment.