Hopping mad: Anger after teacher tells children the Easter Bunny isn't real

Carl Burton’s seven-year-old son heard the “devastating” news during a class at Harton Primary School.

The 36-year-old says he thinks children should be allowed to believe what they want and is upset that his son was left confused.

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Now Alison Chipchase, headteacher at the school in East Avenue, South Shields, has apologised to all those “who may have been offended”. Mr Burton, who also has a five-year-ond son, said: “What right does a teacher have to trample on the beliefs of a child?

“I had a very confused seven-year-old on the phone asking questions and I had to reassure him that the Easter Bunny was real and will be leaving the eggs as normal this year.”

The revelation about the Easter Bunny took place in an a recent RE lesson.

The Year 2 teacher asked the class ‘what’s special about Easter?’ to which a youngster replied ‘the Easter Bunny’. The teacher is then said to have explained that the magical rabbit isn’t real.

Mr Burton, who asked the Gazette not to identify his children by name, said: “I wonder if a child had answered that ‘it’s a celebration of Jesus being killed on the cross then rising from the dead three days later’ the teacher in question would have destroyed that belief too? As who is around to prove or disprove that?”

Mr Burton says both his boys still firmly believe in the Easter Bunny after he reassured them that there had just been a ‘misunderstanding’.

Ms Chipchase said: “I would like to take this opportunity to apologise to youngsters and parents who may have been offended by a teacher saying there was no Easter Bunny.

“I have sent a letter to all staff reminding them of the sensitivities of such matters to avoid any repetition of this type of incident.”