Teacher lied to pupils about being shot in war zone. #Teacher #Ewell #BBCNews

Alexandra Slay, a 34-year-old math teacher at Epsom and Ewell High School, has been indefinitely banned from teaching following a disciplinary hearing that exposed an elaborate series of lies she told her students. Slay, who had been working at the school since 2016, fabricated a story about serving in the Australian Army and claimed she had been shot in the abdomen, requiring emergency surgery — a claim that was entirely false.

Her deceptive behavior extended well beyond the initial lie. Slay went so far as to text students while posing as a military captain, and told them she had suffered a cardiac arrest and flatlined. During the pandemic, she also reached out to students via text to share musical recommendations, pictures of hot chocolates and dogs, and personal diary entries, blurring professional boundaries in a significant way.

In perhaps the most dramatic element of her fabrications, Slay sent letters to her pupils intended to be opened in a 'worst case scenario,' which read: 'If I am gone in person, know that I was doing a brave thing.' This language reinforced her false military narrative and appeared designed to elicit emotional responses from students.

Slay was ultimately caught in August 2023 after her texts and emails were discovered on a pupil's phone. When confronted, she admitted she had not been involved in any fighting, and offered an explanation for her behavior, stating: 'That was wrong. I made up the lie to feel that I belong. Was part of the world.' A disciplinary hearing subsequently banned her from teaching indefinitely.