Story Archive

The Principal Objection

When a well-liked teacher retired from Orley Farm School in Harrow, London, England, the headmaster sent a message in the school newsletter. “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.” Some thought the second sentence was worded a bit oddly. But Clark, 64, who taught English, instantly recognized that the first six words of the second sentence make an acrostic, and when you take the initial letter from each word and put them together, they spell an insult. The schools governors were not amused at the coded message, and Headmaster Mark Dunning, 50, has resigned in disgrace after seven years on the job. (RC/London Telegraph) ...No one likes getting a Dunning letter.