Top woman headteacher denies accusations of sex offences against boy under 16 in the 1980s



Anne Lakey, 54, accused of eight charges against boy under 16

Allegations relate to a period in the 1980s when she was in her late 20s

Lakey won national recognition as chief executive of the Durham Federation of Schools after overseeing improvement in GCSE results

Accused: Anne Lakey, 54, denies a string of sex offences allegedly committed on a boy in the late 1980s

An acclaimed headteacher 'strongly denies' a string of sex offences allegedly committed on a boy, a court has heard.

Anne Lakey, 54, won national recognition as chief executive of the Durham Federation of Schools after overseeing the biggest improvement in GCSE results in the country.

She appeared at Consett Magistrates' Court yesterday for a brief hearing, where details of the eight charges said to have been committed on a boy under 16 during a 12-month period in the late 1980s were read out.

She denies two counts of inciting a boy under 16 to commit an act of gross indecency, two counts of gross indecency on a boy under 16 and four counts of indecent assault on a boy under 16.

The offences were said to have occurred when the defendant was a teacher in her late 20s, but the alleged victim was not a pupil.

Asked by the court clerk if she wanted to indicate a plea at this first hearing, Lakey, of Stanley, County Durham, replied: 'I do indeed. Not guilty.'

Richard Copsey, defending, said: 'She strongly denies these allegations.'

Magistrates declined jurisdiction and sent the case to the Crown Court.

Lakey was granted unconditional bail and is due to appear at Durham Crown Court on January 28.

The federation where she was chief includes Durham Community Business College in Ushaw Moor and Fyndoune Community College in Sacriston.

Fyndoune was last year named the country's most improved secondary school after the number of pupils achieving at least five GCSEs, including maths and English, rose from 26per cent to 80per cent.

Both colleges were judged 'outstanding' by Ofsted school inspectors in 2011.