Men 'exposed themselves' on Mexborough school's Zoom lesson

The Laurel, formerly Mexborough Academy, is "taking steps" with the provider of the Zoom lesson

A group of men exposed themselves to Year 7 school pupils during an online Zoom lesson, a parent has said.

The broadcast with an author had been arranged for students at The Laurel Academy in Mexborough, South Yorkshire.

Jess Hughes, mother of two pupils, said the scene left her daughters "distraught", while she felt "sick to her stomach".

Police confirmed they had received reports of the incident and would be conducting an inquiry.

The Laurel Academy, formerly Mexborough Academy near Doncaster, said it could not comment because the link to the lesson was provided by an external company.

Parent Jess Hughes said her daughters saw men expose themselves during the lesson

Ms Hughes said when the pupils clicked the link to the lesson they were confronted with "several foreign men" on different screens exposing themselves and saying crude things.

She said: "My girls have been really shocked and pale and quiet. I was distraught, I've been in tears all day.

"I was so angry and feel sick to my stomach."

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Richard Brooke, The Laurel's principal, sent a letter to parents saying: "We are aware of an issue with an online external event attended by some of our Year 7 students today. We are taking steps with the external provider."

Ms Hughes said her children will no longer access schoolwork online because she "can't trust it" and she has asked for all work to be given on paper.

She said the link was closed when a pupil messaged a teacher in a different class to alert them, but before that the comments option was off so no-one could make it known what they could see.