SUMMER 2015 | independentschoolparent.com 27

The lucky ones have been plied with vintage wine, opera tickets and expensive jewellery. � e less fortunate have had to endure half-eaten boxes of chocolates, second-hand mugs and dubious clothing accessories.

According to the Association of Teachers and Lecturers (ATL), 90% of teachers receive presents from their pupils each year – but gi� s can range from the extravagant to the extreme.

London parents top the list of lavish present givers, with designer labels like Chanel, Hermès and Prada piling up on teachers’ desks in the capital’s top prep schools at the year-end. “I once had to take a cab home as I was given so many gi� s,” says Becky Morgan, a former London prep school teacher, who now works at Beeston Hall School in Norfolk. “� ere was perfume, Champagne, gold jewellery and more.” A Chelsea mother adds: “I spend as much on the teacher at the end of the year as on my own child’s birthday present.”

“Overseas parents win the crown when it comes to extravagance,” says Janette Wallis of � e Good Schools Guide, although gi� s from famous parents can be

KATIE HUGHESeducation writer for national newspapers

and magazines

PRESENT DAYTeachers are receiving an increasingly diverse range

of end-of-term gi� s, � nds Katie Hughes

Above, some gifts are just plain bizarre

similarly dazzling. Head of maths at Prior Park Prep in Wiltshire, Mark Collins, tells of two packs of gold playing cards given to him by the actor Jude Law, whose son he once taught. He describes them as “the coolest present I’ve ever had.” Other lavish gi� s bestowed on teachers at the school include a Fortnum & Mason food hamper and some Hobbs’ vouchers.

At Aldro in Surrey, it’s “something personal, something a boy has made” that wins teachers over, says Sheridan Charles, the school’s marketing and development manager. Others echo the same sentiment: “I think the written word is still treasured most,” says Guy Holloway, headmaster of Hampton Court House in Surrey, when asked to identify the ideal present. “Just recently I received a card which said ‘thank you for always believing in me’. As a teacher, that meant everything.”

However, some personal presents can go a little o� -piste. Matching underwear, chocolate body paint, complete with brush, and even a ladies’ electric shaver are among many bizarre gi� s mentioned by teachers. One tells of receiving a hand-knitted jumper that wasn’t quite the right size, another of a

homemade photo frame, decorated with clumps of the pupil’s own hair and yet another of a dress that had been designed and sewn by a nine-year-old boy.

Many parents try hard to avoid gi� clichés. Robin Gainher, headmaster of Beeston Hall, was once given a dome-shaped hat “from a family who thought of me when they saw it in Lesotho – I’ve never been quite sure of the connection!”

Other alternative presents cited by teachers include a hand-beaded duster, and a box of hamster bedding, bought, according to a pupil, “because mummy won’t let me buy you the hamster itself ”.

But unusual presents do sometimes hit the spot. “I received a set of screwdrivers when I started teaching 25 years ago,” says Guy Holloway, “and I still use them.” Other welcome gi� s include an engraved whistle for the head of games at Prior Park and a huge lump of parmesan for the school’s cheese-loving head of assessment and ICT.

But presents aren’t obligatory. Dr Mary Bousted, general secretary of the ATL,

says: “Although most sta� like receiving presents from their pupils to show their hard work is

appreciated, they don’t expect them.” ISP

SCHOOL GATE

THE STRANGESTPRESENTS

• See-through nightdress• Large framed photo of a pupil• Tin of hot dog sausages• Box of chocolates: opened, half-eaten and re-wrapped• Gift voucher with nothing on it• Can of gin and tonic• Budgie• Tropical fish

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