- Hill View Primary School in Dorset apologized on Wednesday
- The teacher in question will no longer return to the school
A school has been forced to apologize to its parents after a teacher wrongly told her class that Santa Claus was not real.
The substitute teacher at Hill View Primary School in Bournemouth, Dorset, made the blunder while her class of 10 and 11-year-olds were making Christmas cards on Wednesday.
The celebratory misstep is said to have caused a stir as the year six students left the school and questioned their parents to see if what they said was true.
The school sent a letter to parents later that day 'apologizing profusely' for the upset Santa's slur had caused the children.
They said the teacher in question would not return to the school and were “deeply disappointed” by her actions.
But parents are still confused about what the primary school teacher would want to ruin Christmas.
Dorest, a substitute teacher at Hill View Primary School in Bournemouth, wrongly told her class of 10 and 11-year-olds that Santa Claus was not real on Wednesday
The school said the teacher in question will not return to the school and is “deeply disappointed” by her actions
The letter said: 'We are aware that this afternoon, whilst making Christmas cards, a teacher told the Year 6 children that Santa Claus is not real.
'We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused you and your children and we will be contacting the delivery agency regarding this.
“Please accept our sincere apologies and thank you for your understanding in this matter.”
A follow-up letter sent yesterday stated: 'To inform you of the supply teacher incident, discussions have been held with the supply office and that specific supply teacher will not be back at Hill View.
'As a school we sincerely apologize for this and the supply agency also sends their apologies.
'Thank you for your comments and emails which have been processed and we can assure you that she will not be returning to Hill View.'
One parent, who did not want to be named, said: “Christmas is already a stressful time of year, the last thing we need is for the school to ruin it by taking away the magic. It's really not on.
'What teacher in their right mind would say that to young children? And how did it actually come about? The mind boggles.”
A spokesperson for Hill View Primary School said: 'We have written to parents to let them know what had happened in a class led by a regular teacher.
'We are clearly deeply disappointed and have apologized profusely to our families for the upset caused.
'The education teacher in question is not returning to Hill View and we have made a formal complaint to the education agency we engaged over this unacceptable behaviour.
'This is a magical time of year for us at Hill View and we take care and time to ensure that there are plenty of opportunities for the children to celebrate the joy of Christmas, including through the beautiful nativity scene by our children's reception, church and panto visits, the Christmas party and carols on the playground, to name just a few.'