A former deputy head is alleged to have groomed pupils at Falmouth School before coercing them into having sex with him, Truro Crown Court has heard.

Terence Burke, aged 74, is currently on trial charged with a range of sexual offences against girls under 16 including four charges of incitement to commit an act of gross indecency, five charges of indecent assault, two charges of sex with a girl under 16, three charges of sexual activity with a girl under 16, abusing a position of trust and two charges of inciting a girl to engage in sexual activity whilst in a position of trust.

Burke, who lives in Swindon, denies all the charges.

During two days of evidence two former pupils, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, told the court that at first Burke had helped them.

But that help soon became inappropriate and sexual with Burke sending cards and messages saying he loved them loads and calling them pet names.

On one occasion, one of the former pupils told the court, Burke gave her a CD of a single by Wyclef Jean called 911 to celebrate their “anniversary” whose chorus goes:

“So tell the police I ain't home tonight.

“Messin' around with you is gonna get me life.

“But when I look into your eyes.

“You're worth that sacrifice.

“If this is the kind of love that my mom used to warn me about.

“Man, I'm in trouble.

“I'm in real big trouble.”

The court heard that Burke allegedly took them to hotels and his house to have sex as well as in the back of his car two or three times a week. He was married at the time.

One former pupil even claimed he would he would kiss her in his office, even though she was under 16.

Another said he waited until she was 16 and left school before they had full on sex but did everything else before that.

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She said he gave her thousands of pounds which she spent on things such as clothes, holidays and going out. She only broke off the relationship when she suspected he was seeing another pupil after seeing a suggestive text to someone else about revising.

The former pupils said that Burke, who was also the school's safeguarding officer, was a very popular, caring, kind teacher who pupils would go to for help. They said if they got in trouble he would always have their back.

Burke’s case, says his defence barrister, is that none of this ever happened and that the complainants are lying.

They claimed a request from one of the former pupils for £25,000 after their relationship ended or she would go on This Morning with Phillip Schofield and tell him all about it, was blackmail, a claim she denied, saying it was a joke.

The defence also claimed that another pupil was a fantasist and a proven liar - a claim which this former student also denied, although they admitted they’d lied about unrelated things in a bid to impress friends.

The trial continues.