Anne Lakey
Acclaimed headteacher Anne Lakey arrives at Durham Crown Court where she will today (Tues) go on trial accused of a string of sex offences. Lakey, aged 54, won national recognition as chief executive of the Durham Federation of Schools after overseeing the biggest improvement in GCSE results in the country. North News and Pictures

An acclaimed headteacher had sex with a young teenage boy at her home while he played truant, a court has heard.

Anne Lakey, 54, denies charges of indecency and indecent assault which are said to have taken place in the late 1980s when she was a teacher.

Lakey is said to have referred to herself as his "mummy" when calling his school to get him out of lessons so she could have sex with him at her home while her husband was away.

She transformed her school into one of the most improved in the UK last year. The alleged victim was not a pupil.

Durham Crown Court heard Lakey seduced the boy through "dare games" encouraging him to fondle her breasts. She also asked him after she got out of a bath "what are you going to do then?" before having sex with him while he was still in his uniform.

Caroline Goodwin, prosecuting, said: "He was a teenager who was naturally curious about sex. She flattered him and paid attention to him. He was a young teenager who was being groomed by a woman who was a sexual predator."

Lakey, from Stanley, County Durham, who started teaching in 1982, denies all nine sexual offences charges, including two counts of inciting a boy to commit an act of gross indecency, two of gross indecency and five counts of indecent assault, which are alleged to have taken place between April 1988 and May 1989.

The defence dismissed the claims as "fantasy".

Lakey has since been suspended from her role as chief executive of the Durham Federation of School last December following the allegations.

The alleged victim, who was 13, mentioned it to others, including future partners and his mother, but only came forward in 2012 after seeing Lakey's picture on a blog, which said her raison d'etre was "to give young people the best start in life".

Goodwin said: "That was simply too much for him and he forwarded an email, sent on December 2, 2012, at 10.42 in the evening."

The e-mail read: "I can't believe this woman is still working with young people. She shouldn't be allowed to go anywhere near young people, especially boys. She had sex with me when I was only 13."

Lakey became the headteacher at Deerness Valley Comprehensive in 2001 which later became one of two schools to form the Durham Federation of Schools.

She was described by the Chief Inspector of Education as an "inspiring leader" after transforming the school into one of the best in the country. Its GCSE pass rate last year soared from 26 per cent to 80 per cent.

The trial continues.