The headmaster of an independent school in London has been forced to resign from his post after issuing a retirement notice for a colleague in a school newsletter which was not all that it appeared.
Writing to parents and staff of Orley farm School Mark Dunning wrote: “It is with mixed feelings that I announce the retirement of Mr Roger Clark at the end of this term. We all now know every really great teacher has to finish one day and Mr Clark will do so at the end of this term."
One eagle eyed reader noted that the seemingly innocuous message contained a secondary less appreciative view if the first letter of the first six words of the second sentence were read together.
The offending statement has since been carefully reworded and Dunning voluntarily resigned from his post – presumably to take up a career in copywriting.
Asked by the Telegraph why Dunning resigned Tim Brand, its head of business, said: “It’s an internal matter to the school and we have nothing more to say."