The Ladysmith Junior School in Exeter, Devon, U.K. was forced to issue an apology after parents complained the teachers have ruined the Christmas of their tiny tots by telling them that Santa Claus does not exist.

One fuming parent said, "My wife and I make a special effort to keep the belief in Santa in our daughter's mind as we believe it adds to the magic of Christmas for her and her four-year-old brother.

"What gives the school the right to decide when children should know the truth about such a harmless matter when knowing the truth does take away that little bit of magic?"

Parents charged that teachers at the school told their children aged nine and 10 that letters they sent to Santa Claus were answered by staff from the Post Office. They then asked their children to make up replies to children explaining why their Christmas requests had been rejected.

Jackie Jackson, head teacher of Ladysmith explains, "The choice of this worksheet was a genuine mistake by a teacher which we are sad about.

"As a school we delight in the magic of childhood and believe that Christmas is a special time. This worksheet will never be used in the school again."

However, another mother, Sally Jones, 32, who has three children at the school, said she was not upset by the blunder.

She said, "The only advantage of Santa as a parent is that you have got someone to blame if children don't get what they want."

A spokesman for the U.K.'s Royal Mail confirmed that it receives around 750,000 letters for Santa from children around the country every year, and added that a reply is sent to every kid who sends in a letter.

"They are all forwarded to Santa and we also send a special reply," he said.