Maths teacher Rebecca Joynes, 30, watched Spider-Man with a pupil and told him she was feeling depressed before having sex with him, court told

Rebecca Joynes bought one boy a £365 Gucci belt and took him back to her flat 

A maths teacher accused of becoming pregnant by a pupil watched Spider-Man with him before saying she was feeling depressed and had sex with him, a court was told.

Rebecca Joynes, 30, is on trial accused of having sex with one pupil before later becoming pregnant by a second. She has denied having a 'powerful sexual attraction' to 15-year-old boys.

Joynes admitted she had 'liked the attention' the pair gave her after feeling 'lonely' following the break-up of a long-term relationship, a court heard.

But she denied any sexual activity took place with the first boy – and insisted she only slept with the second after he had turned 16 and she'd been sacked.

Speaking about how she 'opened up' to Boy B, Joynes said she helped him with maths questions he needed help with – despite her bail conditions at the time barring her from unsupervised contact with under 18s.

Joynes today told the court she took 'flirtatious' messages he sent her – including 'Get your t***s out' and 'Show us your bunda' – as 'a joke'.

'I genuinely believed he cared about how I was feeling,' she said.

Joynes said after she confessed to Boy B that she was feeling depressed, he suggested they watch his favourite film, Spider-Man, together.

Maths teacher Rebecca Joynes broke down in tears while revealing that her baby was taken from her within 24 hours of her birth

Describing the evening when she claims they first had sex, in July 2022, Joynes said she showed Boy B the email confirming her sacking.

'It was from there that things happened,' she said. 'We were in the bedroom, we did have sex.'

She confirmed it turned into a full-scale relationship, but one which became 'toxic' before getting 'massively worse' when she found out she was pregnant.

Joynes has arrived at court each day of her trial with a pink knitted baby bonnet tucked into her trousers.

Denying the baby bonnet was a ploy to 'influence' the jury, Joynes insisted she always had it with her.

'I sleep with this every night,' she added.

At one point during her cross-examination, Mr Allman asked how old she was when she took Boy A to her flat, in October 2021.

The maths teacher looked around blankly before the judge asked her date of birth, and she said she had been 28.

She denied that lying came 'quickly' to her, and insisted she hadn't changed her story about what happened with Boy A after Boy B also came forward to police.

Joynes accepted that safeguarding is 'drummed into' teachers, and that communicating with pupils over Snapchat – where messages disappear after being received' was 'taboo'.

Boy A claims Joynes effectively gave him her mobile number by giving him the first ten digits in a maths class and asking him to guess the 11th.

Denying this had been a 'subtle' way of enabling him to send her messages, Joynes today insisted she only gave him the first nine.

But she said the tenth number was 'one', and that Boy A 'strategically' worked his way through permutations, calling each one until her handset rang.

Giving evidence earlier today, the 30-year-old broke down in tears as she revealed her daughter was taken from her within 24 hours of her birth.

She denied bringing the hat in order to win 'sympathy' from the jury – and insisted she hadn't chosen to stand in the witness box out of a desire to ensure they could see it during her evidence today.

Rebecca Joynes pictured in 2018, arriving at court with a pink baby bonnet

Joynes has arrived at court each day with a pink knitted baby bonnet tucked into her trousers

Beginning his cross-examination, prosecutor Joe Allman asked: 'Did you have a powerful sexual attraction to boys aged about 15?'

'No, definitely not', she replied.

Joynes admits she arranged to meet the first pupil – referred to as Boy A – after he correctly guessed her mobile phone number during a Monday morning maths lesson in October 2021.

She accepts buying him a £345 Gucci belt at the Trafford Centre then taking him back to her Salford Quays apartment, but denies his claim that they had sex.

After rumours that they had spent the night together spread, she was arrested and suspended from her job, Manchester Crown Court has heard.

Following questioning she was released on bail on condition she did not have unsupervised contact with under-18s.

Joynes admits becoming pregnant after starting a relationship with the second pupil – referred to as Boy B – after he contacted her to ask how she was.

But she today denied that any sexual contact took place until after Boy B had turned 16 and she had been sacked from her job.

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Today Joynes admitted she should never have swapped messages with Boy A, saying it came after boys in her class told her she was 'so sexy' and dubbed her 'Bunda Becky' – a slang reference to her bottom.

Becoming tearful, she said: 'I should never have taken him to the Trafford Centre and definitely not let him into my apartment.

'I let my guard down. I caved in to the attention he was giving me.'

Joynes told jurors she 'struggled massively' during the Covid pandemic, which came after a nine-year relationship came to an end.

'I was lonely and liked the attention,' she said. 'I have to own up to that.'

Joynes agreed she and Boy A discussed her sexual history, but she insisted he slept on the couch when he spent the night at her apartment.

At school the following Monday said she noticed Boy A wasn't in her maths lesson and asked Boy B where he was.

She said Boy B told him that Boy A had been 'pulled out' of the lesson, becoming 'panicked' as she assumed it was to do with her seeing him outside school.

Joynes said she took Boy B out of the classroom and asked him: 'What do I do?'

She said he advised her to delete the messages between her and Boy A from her phone, but she 'didn't know how'.

'He took my phone and factory reset my phone,' she said.

Joynes – who said she suffered 'a breakdown' following her arrest - said Boy B tried to follow her on Snapchat the following month, but she rejected him.

But she said accepted a request a few weeks later after he asked how she was coping.

'I genuinely believed he cared about how I was feeling,' she said, saying she came to regard Boy B as her 'best friend'.

However she denied that sexual activity between the pair took place before he turned 16 in 2022.

Joynes said on his birthday, Boy B sent her a message reading 'I'm legal now' with a winking emoji.

Joynes arriving at Manchester Crown Court. The Year 11 maths teacher denied she had sex with the first pupil, while insisting any relations with the second were after he was 16 and she had been dismissed

But she said it was 'just passed off as a joke' and that they only had sex after she was sacked from her job in July 2022.

'There was no sexual contact until after I was dismissed from school,' she said.

She said they had sex after she became 'really emotional'.

'It really hit me that I'd lost my dream job.'

Earlier Joynes claimed boys in her Year 11 maths class at the school in Greater Manchester where she taught made 'flirtatious' comments, asking for her phone number and admiring her bottom.

She said boys would comment 'You're so sexy' and refer to her as 'Bunda Becky' – which she explained a slang reference to her 'bum'.

But she ignored the remarks for fear the boys would turn against her and impact the behaviour of the class as a whole.

'I chose to ignore comments I potentially shouldn't have ignored as a teacher at that point,' she said.

Joynes admits having a sexual relationship with Boy B – which ended when she told him she was pregnant – but insists it only began after he turned 16.

She denies six counts of sexual activity with a child, two of them while in a position of trust.

The trial continues.