A vicar has apologised after he brought children to tears when he made a remark about Father Christmas.
The Rev Dr Paul Chamberlain was addressing Year 6 pupils from Lee-on-the-Solent Junior School in Hampshire during a talk about the Nativity when he made the claim.
The minister, who is vicar of the nearby St Faith’s Church, is alleged to have told the children: “You’re all Year 6, now let’s be real, Santa isn’t real.”
The remark is said to have left children in tears and sparked complaints by their parents.
One 10-year-old pupil who was in the religious education (RE) lesson said: “He also was saying what Santa likes. Someone said, ‘He likes cookies.’ Then he said, ‘Do your parents like cookies?’ And a lot of them said, ‘Yeah.’ And then he said how the parents were the ones that were eating it.
“I heard a lot of gasps because they were shocked about it, so I don’t think everyone knew.”
One parent added: “Lots of children started crying in class. Mine was upset but she still believes so I’m quite lucky she’s still not believing him and she thinks he’s lost the plot.
“I think it’s wrong, but a lot of parents have had to confess to their child.”
Another parent said her seven-year-old daughter told her the Rev Dr Chamberlain had ruined Christmas after she was told of what he said by older pupils.
“I don’t know how it can be undone, but I think it’s absolutely disgusting,” the mother said.
‘Error of judgment’
After receiving complaints, the school emailed parents to say they had reassured pupils that “your own family beliefs are what are important and just as valid as Christian Christmas story”.
The Rev Dr Chamberlain also wrote to pupils to apologise and is said to have accepted that his remarks were “an error of judgment”.
A spokesman for the Diocese of Portsmouth said: “We understand that the vicar of St Faith’s, Lee-on-the-Solent, the Rev Paul Chamberlain, was leading an RE lesson for 10 and 11-year-olds at Lee-on-the-Solent Junior School.
“After talking about the Nativity story from the Bible, he made some comments about the existence of Father Christmas.
“Paul has accepted that this was an error of judgment and he should not have done so. He apologised unreservedly to the school, to the parents and the children and the headteacher immediately wrote to all parents to explain this.
“The school and diocese have worked together to address this issue, and the headteacher has now written to parents a second time, sending them Paul’s apology.”
