Former Banbury teacher jailed for drug offenses

Rachel Ryan, aged 41, of Fford Bryngwyn, Gorseinon, Swansea, was convicted and sentenced at Oxford Crown Court on Friday, November 24.

Ryan was working at Banbury Academy as head of Business Studies at the time of the offences.

Another teacher saw a student texting in class, and after seizing the phone, realised that the student was texting Ryan.

The school examined the content of the messages and were concerned that they related to drugs.

Ryan was immediately suspended and Banbury Academy contacted Thames Valley Police and an investigation began.

An investigation established that Ryan had been offering Valium for sale, as well as ordering class C drugs to be delivered to her address in Banbury.

She was arrested on June 24, 2016, and a quantity of heroin was found in her possession.

The total amount of drugs seized had a likely street value of about £1,900.

Ryan was charged in March of this year following which Banbury Academy sent out a letter informing parents to contact the school if their children had had unusual contact with Ryan.

Investigating officer Detective Constable Bryan Groves, of Oxford Force CID, said: “Rachel Ryan used her knowledge gained as the head of Business Studies in her role as a drug dealer.

“This was seen in one of her text messages where she offered a discounted price if a drug user purchased more than 100 tablets.

“Rachel Ryan had trust placed in her as a teacher. She had responsibilities and should have been someone for her students to look up to. She abused that trust and has let her students down.”

Ryan pleaded guilty to three counts of being concerned in the supply of class C drugs, three counts of importing a class C drug with intent to evade a prohibition/restriction, and one count of possessing a class A drug – heroin.

She was sentenced to 15 months in prison.