Teacher banned from profession after pretending to be in Australian army

LocalPolitics
1 May 2026 • 11:07 PM MYT
The Independent
The Independent

The world’s most free-thinking newspaper

Teacher banned from profession after pretending to be in Australian army

  • Alexandra Slay, a maths teacher at Epsom and Ewell High School, has been indefinitely banned from teaching for inappropriate conduct with pupils.
  • She sent thousands of emails and handwritten letters and gave out her personal phone number to pupils between 2020 and 2023.
  • Ms Slay fabricated stories about being in the Australian army and in some of the messages, claimed to have been shot in a war zone and severely injured.
  • The communications were deemed deeply inappropriate and unprofessional, encouraging secrecy and discussing personal and intimate matters.
  • A professional conduct panel found a significant breach of boundaries, leading to an inappropriate teacher-pupil relationship; Ms Slay cannot apply to teach again until April 2028.

IN FULL