Lancashire School Children Trauma As Headteacher Says World War Has Broken Out
MIKE Richards uses the morning assembly at St Mary’s RC, Bacup, Lancashire, to tell the primary school’s student body that World War 3 has broken out.
Students are taken to a cellar. They hear an air raid siren. A firework explodes.
Thankfully after some weeping, wailing and perhaps wetting, at .30pm Mr Richards confirmed that war was over.
Says Mr Richards:
“We were doing World War Two as a topic and we saw advice from schools that basically suggested that we introduced the topic as if it was really happening, which is what we did.”
How authentic do you want it, kids? Were evacuees placed on buses to the country to live with strangers? Did a man in a black shirt single out the Jews and march them off to the kitchens? Did you fracture their legs to simulate rickets?
Mr Richards hears of nightmares. The trauma of war has scared the little veterans. He adds:
“We didn’t foresee these problems. We did a simulated air raid and talked about evacuation, but we said children would probably be evacuated to Bacup as it was safer than Manchester or London.”
And less paedos – probably.
“Unfortunately we made it too real. After that we spent all the rest of the afternoon explaining to them that it wasn’t.”
Next week’s class: underage pregnancy in The Spanish Inquisition.
Spotter: Karen
Posted: 21st, January 2011 | In: Key Posts, Strange But True Comment | TrackBack | Permalink
