A primary school teacher who orchestrated an elaborate two-year hoax, faking a terminal cancer diagnosis and even her own death, has been exposed and struck off – yet is reportedly still working with children.
The Web of Deceit
The woman, identified by the Mail on Sunday as 26-year-old Lara Simpson from Thurso, was known only as 'Teacher F' in official disciplinary documents from the General Teaching Council for Scotland (GTCS). Her deception began in May 2021 when she falsely told colleagues at her primary school that she had been diagnosed with leukaemia and was starting chemotherapy.
The lies rapidly escalated. To make her story believable, Simpson shaved her head and bought a wig to mimic the effects of cancer treatment. She would disappear for days, claiming to be in intensive care, and began sending detailed health updates to the school while posing as her own mother.
Her performance grew even more audacious. She began using crutches, a wheelchair, breathing tubes, and even a prosthetic leg at school, telling staff and pupils the cancer had spread and required an amputation.
A Fabricated Life and Death
By early 2022, Simpson told her colleagues her cancer was incurable and that doctors had given her just six months to live. In a deeply unsettling move, she involved her pupils, telling one child she wanted to spend her 'final months' getting married and even gifting a bridesmaid dress to a girl in her class.
The entire school community became entangled in her fabricated reality. Staff and pupils waved to an air ambulance she claimed to be travelling in, dropped off gifts at a hospice where she said she was receiving care, and watched emotional video messages she circulated, including one titled 'I Miss My Life.'
The charade reached its shocking climax on March 18, 2023. Simpson, posing as her own aunt, emailed the school staff to inform them that she had died after 'losing her battle with cancer'.
Unravelling and Aftermath
The intricate web of lies unravelled months later when a former colleague spotted photos of Simpson alive and well on a local Parkrun Facebook page in Thurso.
The GTCS conducted an investigation, concluding that Simpson had engaged in a 'chronic and elaborate deception' and was 'unfit to teach'. She was subsequently struck off from the teaching register. Despite this, the Mail on Sunday revealed that Simpson was reportedly found to be running a dance school, LAS Collective, for children as young as three.
Parents of children at the dance school were reportedly unaware of her past. One former colleague expressed the collective shock and anger, stating: 'Everyone who knows her has been left gobsmacked and angry. For her to still be working with children is shocking.'
When approached by the newspaper, Simpson denied everything, saying only: 'That’s not me.' The GTCS stated it could not comment on individual cases but defended its decision to conceal her identity, suggesting revealing it could 'undermine the fairness and integrity of the regulatory process'.