A 16-year-old boy has been jailed for life after pleading guilty to the fatal stabbing of a school teacher in April.

Ann Maguire, 61, was stabbed seven times in the back and neck by a pupil, who has now been identified as Will Cornick.

In court today, Cornick was told he will serve a minimum of 20 years in prison, and may never be released, the BBC reports. He was studying for his GCSEs at the time of the murder.

Prosecutor Paul Greaney QC described the attack as "cowardly" and "inexplicable".

"Ann Maguire was 61 years of age, 5ft 2in height and of slim build. The defendant was a full foot taller and was armed with a large kitchen knife," Greaney said. "To describe his attack as cowardly hardly does it justice."

After the attack, Cornick said he felt an "adrenaline rush" and later told a psychiatrist that he was proud of his actions.

"I know the victim's family will be upset but I don't care. In my eyes, everything I've done is fine and dandy," he apparently said. "It's kill or be killed. I did not have a choice. It was kill her or suicide."

Greaney condemned the boy's "total and chilling lack of remorse" as "truly grotesque," noting that the young man shows "psychopathic tendencies".

He "derived pleasure from the public nature of her killing," Greaney said.

The court also heard about a series of messages Cornick exchanged with a friend online about "brutally killing" Maguire ahead of the attack. On the day of the murder, he took in several knives to the school and a bottle of whiskey to "celebrate". He allegedly winked at another pupil after telling them of his plot.

Maguire, who taught Spanish, had been due to retire after working at Corpus Christi Catholic College in Leeds for over 40 years. She was not meant to be working on the day of her attack, but had come in especially to help students ahead of their exams. She was the first teacher to be killed in a British classroom.

A memorial service was held in her honour at the end of September. Hundreds gathered at Leeds Town Hall to remember Maguire, described by her husband as "a beautiful, dedicated, hardworking individual".

"Ann was a very loving dedicated wife and a natural mother and it was her natural mothering qualities that I think made Ann such a wonderful teacher," Don Maguire, 62, said in an interview with the BBC.

"Through her devotion and extraordinary talent, her legacy will live on in hearts and minds across the whole of the city," Leeds councillor Judith Blake said.

The Ann Maguire Arts Education Fund has been set up in her memory. It will provide bursaries and funding for young people in music, drama, language and dance.