Headmistress of Malvern St James school, Patricia Woodhouse

The husband of the headmistress at a leading girls’ boarding school is facing sexual harassment charges after complaints by two women.

Stephen Woodhouse has been barred from the premises of Malvern St James girls’ school in Worcestershire, which is run by his wife Patricia.

He is to be tried on four charges of ‘unwanted sexual touching’ after a year-long police investigation.

The school – whose old girls include novelist Barbara Cartland and the Duke of Gloucester’s mother Princess Alice – has written to parents reassuring them that no pupil ‘has been or is at any risk’.

Mr Woodhouse has agreed not to visit the school and is said to be living at the home he and his wife own abroad while awaiting trial.

School sources have told The Mail on Sunday the charges relate to two adult women who are not members of the teaching staff.

The allegations cover a four-year period, but formal complaints were made in June last year.

Governors at the 430-pupil Worcestershire school, where fees are up to £36,000 a year, said Mrs Woodhouse will remain in post with their ‘full confidence and support’.

They confirmed that immediate action was taken – agreed by both Mr and Mrs Woodhouse – to exclude him from the premises ‘without prior arrangement’.

He appeared before Worcester magistrates on July 3 and has been bailed pending a hearing at Worcester Crown Court in October.

It is understood the 64-year-old denies the charges and will fight to clear his name.

Mrs Woodhouse is seen as one of Britain’s leading private school headmistresses. She was appointed in 2010, moving from Abbots Bromley School in Staffordshire.

In a local newspaper interview at the time, she told how she would be living at the new school with her husband and ‘rather large tabby cat’ Moppet.

In 2013, she steered Malvern St James to a top-five place in the Independent Schools Council ranking table for boarding schools.

As well as its academic prowess, the school, which caters for four to 18-year-olds, prides itself on extra-curricular activities which have even included wine-tasting for senior girls.

Mrs Woodhouse is due to retire next summer after six years in post. Her end-of-term message to pupils, staff and parents makes no reference to the police investigation.

In the current edition of the school magazine, MSJ News, she writes: ‘This is a school that is achieving great things and I am proud to be its headmistress as it flourishes.

‘All that remains is for me to wish you a happy and relaxing holiday. I look forward to seeing you in September for a new round of fresh challenges and opportunities.’

Stephen Woodhouse appeared before Worcester magistrates on July 3 and has been bailed pending a hearing at Worcester Crown Court (pictured) in October

Mrs Woodhouse was unavailable for comment last night.

But in a statement to The Mail on Sunday, the governors said: ‘Mr Stephen Woodhouse has been charged by West Mercia Police with four counts of unwanted sexual touching over clothing of two adult women between November 2010 and June 2014.

‘Following notice of the allegations last summer, the governors took immediate action with the full agreement of both Mr and Mrs Woodhouse.

‘Mr Woodhouse has since not been on school premises without prior arrangement and has been resident at the Woodhouses’ home abroad.

‘The relevant authorities have confirmed that there are no safeguarding issues and that no pupil has been or is at any risk.

‘The governors have co-operated fully with the appropriate authorities and Mrs Woodhouse has continued to have their full confidence and support throughout this difficult time.

‘They are unable to comment further on this matter other than to say that it is understood Mr Woodhouse strongly denies the allegations.’

A West Mercia Police spokesman said: ‘We can confirm that a man has appeared in court charged with unwanted sexual touching.’

Malvern St James has grown out of the merger of four girls’ schools in Great Malvern over the last 125 years – The Abbey School, Lawnside, Malvern Girls’ College and St James’s School.