Epsom teacher banned for lying about being shot in war zone
The maths teacher pretended to be Australian soldier
A maths teacher in Epsom has been banned from teaching after telling pupils she was part of the Australian army and had been shot in a war zone.
Alexandra Slay, a 34-year-old head of year at Epsom and Ewell High School, claimed to students she took trips to war zones and pretended to be seriously injured.
Slay, who worked at the school from December 2016, even sent pupils letters to be opened in a "worst-case scenario," stating she was engaged in "a brave thing."
Earlier this month, a disciplinary hearing barred her from teaching indefinitely.
According to a report by the Teaching Regulation Agency released on Wednesday, Slay claimed she was "mentoring" multiple pupils and sent them messages that included "personal diary entries."
One pupil said Slay, who began emailing them during the Covid pandemic, included musical recommendations and pictures of hot chocolates and dogs in her messages.
During one fabricated trip between July and August 2023, Slay texted a pupil pretending to be "Lt Col D Blackburn." She falsely claimed she was shot in the abdomen and required emergency surgery.
Subsequent texts claimed Slay, styling herself as a Captain, had gone into cardiac arrest and "flatlined."
In May 2023, further messages suggested she had sustained more injuries.
Slay’s deception was uncovered in August 2023 after texts and emails were found on a pupil's phone, and she resigned from the school in November 2023.
In response to the investigation, Slay admitted she "had not been involved in any fighting" and said: "I made up the lie to feel that I belong, was a part of the world."
The panel concluded she sent inappropriate texts and emails, causing stress and alarm to pupils.