Parents alerted as teacher charged with sex offences

A BOARDING school has written to parents warning them pupils may have been victims of a teacher accused of child abuse.

Sam Phillips, 27, who taught at Belmont School in Mill Hill, north London, where fees are £23,400 a year, was arrested and charged last week with 11 sexual offences against teenage children.

Mill Hill School, a £43,590-a-year boarding school which Belmont feeds to, wrote to parents on Wednesday to inform them that some of the alleged victims were pupils of Mill Hill.

Notable alumni of Mill Hill include Richard Dimbleby, the BBC war correspondent, Patrick Troughton, the Doctor Who actor, and Lord Lebedev, the media owner.

Mr Phillips, from south London, taught at Belmont from September 2017 to March 2021.

He is accused of one charge of causing a girl aged 13 to engage in online sexual activity, one charge of attempting to meet a 14-year-old girl following online grooming, and four charges of making indecent online images of a child.

Mr Phillips also faces two charges of attempting to cause a girl aged 13 to engage in online sexual activity and three charges of engaging in online sexual communication with a child.

David Benson, the Mill Hill head eacher, told parents that all pupils would be offered support during a series of house meetings.

“I am writing to share some distressing news regarding a former foundation member of staff, Mr Sam Phillips,” Mr Benson wrote in the letter according to The Times.

“We have been informed by the police that Mr Phillips was arrested and charged last week with recent online sexual offences involving teenage children. The allegations relate to a period after Mr Phillips left Belmont.

“We are fully co-operating with the police and local authority safeguarding teams and taking their guidance regarding the information we can share. The charges are deeply concerning, and our thoughts are with the victims and their families.”

According to the letter, Mr Phillips was suspended and then resigned from Belmont in March 2021 after matters “concerning activities outside of school” were raised.

Parents were told that he had left for “personal reasons” at the time. However, many are said to be furious they were not informed about the real circumstances of his departure.