Happy Christmas, Miss... here's your knickers

Last updated at 08:37 16 December 2005

Imagine if your Christmas gift haul included Hello Kitty knickers, home-made soap, condoms and a teddy bear with a card saying "from one horny devil to another"...

Well that's what teachers in England and Wales say they have received over the years from pupils and their parents.

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According to a poll for the Times Educational Supplement, teachers are also on the receiving end of prank gifts at Christmas, such as coconut macaroons with a "strange" filling.

The strangest present secondary teacher Rebecca Heath, from Hornby, Lancaster, received, was a pair of bright red "Hello Kitty" knickers.

Ms Heath, 25, who teaches maths, said she was less offended by the choice of underwear than the fact that they were two sizes too big.

Other bizarre presents reported include a small, grey lump of home-made soap, a teddy bear holding a card saying "from one horny devil to another", an eerie porcelain doll inside a wicker cage, a brooch made from gold-spray painted pasta, flavoured condoms, a pillow case with actor Johnny Depp's face printed on it and a bottle of Scotch with the security tag still attached.

Home-made gifts

The TES questioned 1,000 state school teachers who said they actually preferred home-made gifts or booze to tacky presents.

But the choosy lot were divided on the issue of chocolates and sweets, which were both the third most-desired and second most-hated present.

Most (82 per cent) of primary and secondary teachers said they received at least one present each year, and 73 per cent of those were bought rather than home-made.

The gifts cost an average of £4.30 but eight lucky teachers reported receiving presents worth more than £100.

While 90 per cent of primary teachers said they received presents costing more than £1, just 60 per cent secondary teachers could say the same.

The poll also showed that teachers in the North East were most likely to receive gifts, while those in London got the most expensive ones.

Another chilling tale of Christmas gifts past came from Mick Brookes, general secretary for the National Association of Head Teachers.

He said: "The only one I ever refused was from a pupil who had a tendency for mischief. He gave me a coconut macaroon and when I told him I'd eat it later he said 'Oh no, you have to eat it now'. I have no idea what was in it."

Richard Walmsley, head of Newnham Middle School in Bedford, added: "The worst was a stuffed mongoose fighting a snake, which I was given when I was teaching in the United Arab Emirates."

Meanwhile, Steve Coneron, head of Limehurst High School in Loughborough, said larger gifts had to be recorded - such as a beautiful sari recently given to a teacher by an Indian family.

However, he said he turned a blind eye to small items, such as bars of chocolate.