A ROGERSTONE head teacher accused of allowing cheating admitted there was some manipulation of national test results at the school, but said she had not known about it at the time and it was out of her control.

Samantha Yeoman is also accused of creating an intimidating environment for staff at Rogerstone Primary School.

A General Teaching Council for Wales panel retired today to consider whether they find the allegations against Mrs Yeoman proved.

She denies unacceptable professional conduct by allowing staff to manipulate the 2013 National Reading and Numeracy Test so pupils received better results.

Mrs Yeoman did not appear at the hearing.

In a statement, she said she now accepts there were some breaches, but said they were beyond her control and against her instructions.

Emma Burns, presenting the case against her, said: “This was her scheme to ensure the test results matched the expectations she had for the school.”

Mrs Yeoman accepted teachers had seen some test papers beforehand.

“It was in order to ensure the children had access and were not disadvantaged,” her statement said.

And she added she could not possibly have envisaged her staff manipulating the tests.

Some pupils were allegedly given extra time to complete exams and allowed breaks in between - “clearly not test conditions”, Ms Burns said.

Others were given marked tests back to correct answers and one pupil rubbed out and changed an answer three times, the panel heard.

Mrs Yeoman admitted some pupils were allowed to sit in groups and that pupils were allowed extra time in exams.

But she denied this was with the intention of cheating.

Business manager at the school Nick Brain gave evidence saying he had not personally felt intimidated by Mrs Yeoman but said she was demanding and some might find her manner at times “a little abrupt and aggressive”.

He said he had watched Mrs Yeoman and deputy head teacher Wayne Millard remove boxes of files and personal effects from the school the day before a meeting when they were suspended.

He also said he suspected folders were deleted from the school’s IT system.

In his closing speech, Mrs Yeoman’s representative Gwylim Roberts-Harry said deputy head teacher Mr Millard had given staff instructions about how to administer tests, not Mrs Yeoman.

He said her actions “do not amount to dishonesty.”

The panel are expected to return a decision on whether they find the facts proved tomorrow.