UFO stunt at school backfires

However, some parents said their children were left terrified. The ‘abducted’ learning support teacher, Joy Law, looks after special needs pupils, and mum to 9-year-old Harry, who is autistic, explained, “Harry will take everything you say literally, so when he was told aliens had taken Mrs Law away and the police were investigating - and then he actually saw the police - he believed every word.”

Another mum said her son Ollie was very upset and couldn’t sleep for days. She said Ollie spent all weekend thinking the aliens would come down and kidnap him.

The hoax was part of ‘Everyone Writes Day’ for all 370 children at the school. The aim was to inspire the kids, take writing beyond the classroom environment and give them something exciting to encourage their storytelling.

Last night, the school said in a statement: “A few parents expressed concerns that some of the children had been upset by the apparent realism, and the head has spoken with them personally.

“The school would never knowingly do anything to upset or alarm children.

“The children were reassured throughout the morning that they were perfectly safe. They produced some excellent creative and factual writing.” We bet they did!

“The police input was well-intentioned, and it was thought pupils would have a fun day,” Sussex Police said.

Do you wish teachers were this inspired when you were at school, or would you be worried that this kind of stunt could leave you child sleepless for weeks? Let us know…