Headteacher 'sorry' after telling young pupils World War III had begun

A headteacher has apologised after making his primary pupils think World War III had begun. The children were shown a film of the Blitz and told London was being bombed, before an air-raid sounded. They were then led to a cellar and a firework was let off to simulate a bomb explosion.

It was part of a project about World War II at the school but some pupils were said to have been terrified and suffered nightmares. Headteacher Mike Richards, who announced at the morning assembly that Britain was at war, abandoned the project at lunchtime. The school, St Mary’s Roman Catholic in Bacup, near Burnley, has children aged three to 11.



A pupil’s mother, who did not wish to be named, said: ‘It was really unpleasant. The kids were upset as soon as they were told and yet the school let this thing continue. There are some very angry parents. You send your child off in the morning and they’re told there’s a war. ‘No one with an ounce of common sense would put them through it.’ Mr Richards admitted many teachers were ‘very upset’ that pupils were distressed by the project.

‘We saw advice from schools that suggested we introduced the topic as if it was really happening,’ he said. ‘The idea was to get the children to empathise with what it was like. The bulk of the boys thought it was great but a few girls were upset and had a sleepless night. We we went too far and the school apologises for any distress caused.’