Teacher at prestigious school arrested over pupil rape claim

A teacher at a top high school has been arrested on suspicion of raping a teenage girl.

The 23-year-old teaches at Farlingaye High School at Woodbridge, Suffolk.

The school's website says it is the best non-selective school in the country, according to The Independent's league table of A-Level results.

The teacher was arrested on Monday after the girl told police she had been attacked.

A Suffolk Police spokeswoman said the teenager claimed to have been raped in nearby Ufford in July.

The teacher, from Ipswich, was quizzed by detectives at Felixstowe police station. He was bailed by cops to return to the police station on December 3.

Suffolk County Council last night said the teacher, who has not been named, has been suspended until the outcome of the police investigation.

A council spokesman said: "We are aware of the case. The member of staff involved has been suspended until a conclusion is reached in the proceedings.

"The local authority is providing support to the school during the investigation."

The police spokeswoman said: "Suffolk Police have arrested a 23-year-old Ipswich man on suspicion of rape after receiving an allegation from a teenage girl.

"The allegation relates to an incident said to have occurred in early July 2007 in Ufford. The 23-year-old man has been bailed until December 3 at Felixstowe Police Station."

Farlingaye High School is a mixed comprehensive school for pupils aged 11-18. The main school has 1,418 pupils on its roll and a further 326 in the sixth form.

Farlingaye has been a maths and computing specialist school since 2002.