I used to be a teacher and am usually on the side of schools most of the time but my niece has had a real problem with her child's teacher today.
Her DD who I'll call Bella is 8 soon and is having a small party for 7 friends. It's a pottery party, they make pots and plates and paint them. There is also food provided. Bella invited 6 girls from school and her cousin.
The class teacher asked to have a word today after school. There is a girl in the class I'll call Alice who has been unpleasant to Bella ever since nursery school. She's pinched her and pushes her over and niece has had to speak to the school about it a few times. Mostly Bella stays away from her. Alice went home and cried to her mother because she wanted to go to Bella's party and her mother asked the teacher to have a word with niece.
Now, if I was that teacher I would have just said no. But the teacher asked niece if there was some way that Bella could be included. Niece said it wasn't possible 8 places only - booked and paid for. She was so stunned to be asked that she just left but she wants to make it clear to the teacher that she should not have asked in the first place. Especially as Bella has been "bullied" by Alice in the past. And she doesn't want to be put in that position again.
It isn't a school where whole class parties are a thing - most are groups of 8 to 10 from a class of 30.
It was an unreasonable request, wasn't it?