Primary school teacher tells class that Father Christmas isn't real

A teacher has been banned from a primary school after telling children that Father Christmas wasn't real. About 25 seven-year-olds were left confused and upset when the supply teacher blurted out that it was parents - not Santa Claus - who left presents under the tree.

The distraught youngsters told shocked mums and dads about the blunder, and they inundated the school with complaints. As a result, the woman teacher has been barred from working at the Blackshaw Lane Primary in Royton, Oldham and a complaint has been lodged with her agency.

An apology from headteacher Angela McCormick has been sent to parents of the Year 3 pupils. And in a bid to repair the damage, the youngsters involved have had lessons on Christmas and have sent letters to Santa.



One dad said: “Apparently this teacher just came out with it in class. I couldn’t believe it when my daughter told me. Why would you say such a thing? She was really upset. She’d been thinking about it on the way home and she couldn’t understand.”

He added: “It should be down to parents, not teachers, to deal with this sort of thing. And seven or eight is no age to be told that.”

Another parent said that he had spent hours convincing his daughter that the teacher was wrong. He said: “I’ve told her she must have been confused. I wasn’t happy and a lot of the mums were upset. All kids at that age are excited at this time of year, so for someone to come out and say something like that puts a dampener on it all. Now there are doubts at the back of their minds.”