Teacher jailed for fake grades

A DANCE teacher is behind bars for bumping up her students’ grades to boost her reputation.

Amanda Brugnoli-Lines, 36, formerly of The Greenway, Epsom, was handed a two-year prison sentence at Guildford Crown Court on Friday after pleading guilty to 22 counts of forgery, one count of fraud and one count of perverting the course of justice.

Brugnoli-Lines (pictured) gave a number of her pupils extra marks by replacing genuine certificates with false ones while heading up the Dance Lines Academy in Croydon and other dance academies.

The students, some of whom were as young as three, were registered for exams with the Royal Academy of Dance, the Imperial Society of Teaching of Dancing and the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art.

The teacher, now of Beech Hill, Haywards Heath, also forged examination and presentation results sheets, which would accompany dance certificates, to support the inflated grades.

Detective Inspector David Cooper said: “Brugnoli-Lines attempted to create a web of lies and deceit around her in a bid to cover up her crimes and deflect attention away from her.

“She was initially treated as a victim of crime by Surrey Police after falsely reporting allegations of harassment and even sent herself threatening texts in order to give her story more credibility.

“But, due to the hard work and thorough investigations of almost 20 officers, we quickly began to unravel the many lies she told us and soon we realised she had conned a number of young people enrolled at her dance academy.

“The devastation Brugnoli-Lines has inflicted on her former dance pupils should not be underestimated: she falsified their dancing achievements and in turn crushed their goals.”