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Private School Puts £50 Limit On Teachers Gifts After Parents Buy Staff Mulberry Handbag

Private School Puts £50 Limit On Teachers Gifts After Parents Buy Staff Mulberry Handbag

Staff at the £5,490 a term school said parents were putting teachers in an 'awkward position'.

Dominic Smithers

Dominic Smithers

Parents of children at a private school have been banned from spending more than £50 on presents for their teachers.

I know what you're thinking, 'who is splashing that kind of cash on teachers?' The answer: well-to-do parents at St Helen and St Katherine school for girls, in Abingdon, Oxfordshire.

According to the school - and definitely not in an attempt to curry favour with staff in any way - parents have been gifting their children's teachers Mulberry handbags and gift vouchers at top restaurants.

So staff at the school, which was attended by Samantha Cameron, have now brought in the ban to stop teachers from being put in an 'awkward position', says the Times.

Sending shockwaves through the £5,490 a term (A TERM!) school, parents and guardians are now restricted to spending £100 cap on all group presents. Wow.

The school says the rule has been in place for years but they had to send out a letter to clarify the rules.

Parents have been restricted to spending just £50 on teachers' presents.
PA

The independent school's Bursar David Eley said: "As a charitable organisation we are obliged to have a policy in this area to ensure strong governance.

"Our staff policy has been in place for a number of years and no concerns have ever arisen over this matter.

"We have issued a letter to parents to provide clarity and to prevent placing staff or parents in an awkward position.

"We have a great relationship with our parent body and a powerful sense of community which is built on this kind of transparency/clarity."

However the decision has been criticised by Janita Gray, senior editor at the Good School Guide, who is concerned it may make parents feel £50 is the normal rate for a present.

According to the Mirror, one teacher said even £10 was too much.

Samantha Cameron the wife of former Prime Minister David Cameron, attended the school.
PA

They wrote: "I'd be mortified if every parent thought they had to spend £10 on me, over the class that would be £300.

"The thing I appreciate most is a note in the Christmas card to say their child is happy and settled."

This comes a few weeks after a high school on the Wirral banned its pupils from wearing designer coats.

From the New Year children at Woodchurch High School, Birkenhead, will not be allowed to wear super pricey branded coats such a Canada Goose and Moncler - which can cost up to £600 a piece.

The school has taken radical steps to cut out what it calls 'poverty shaming' once and for all.

Featured Image Credit: Wikicommons/Creative Commons

Topics: UK News