Best excuses for lack of homework from students

[Rowlers]

I have just received this email from one of my students. It has really tickled me! So I was wondering what gems your students / DCs have used...

Hello,

Unfortunately 2 weeks ago, I failed to bring my book to your lesson (Mondays P3) for which I had to hand in the next day. I had misplaced my exercise book, hence the missing homework. I vaguely copied from memory my drawing and description on to a piece of lined paper to hand to you, but when it came to handing it to you to explain about my book I couldn't find you. I tried looking for you again on Thursday but I think you may have gone to lunch, so I typed up an email explaining the situation and sent it to you. For one reason or another (I presume it was due to my internet at home being frantic) I presumed the email had sent and you had received it. On Monday you were absent to the lesson, a little later in the week I had found my book and my homework inside of it. But today I came to check my emails like I normally do and I wondered why my previous email was not replied to, this of course was because it had failed to send. I shall bring my homework to you at breaktime tomorrow and I hope you accept my sincere apologies.

Many Thanks,

Kevin Bacon (ok I made the name up)

Could it not be genuine? Its a well written polite email. How old is the boy?

I think it sounds genuine!

Oh yes definitely genuine. He's a lovely boy who is either under pressure from parents not to get into trouble, or I scare the crap out of him! He's 13/14

Awww, it's quite sweet really

Very sweet. Better than a blank "Why did you ever think I was going to do the homework?" stare I often get!

The best I ever had was 'X was unable to do her homework last night as we found out we had a mouse and the family was up all night trying to catch it...' I had to let it go for sheer ingenuity.

My best excuse was "my dad dropped me off at school and he's accidently taken my homework to Amsterdam with him". Dad was a long distance lorry driver and took a photo of said homework next to the canal to prove it wasn't made up :o

Next to the canal aswell haha

Never had chasing mouse excuse! Hats of to dad for pic by canal. Great stuff.

Not lack of homework but a student excused himself for being late for my lesson "because I had to wait ages Miss for the herd of cows to finish crossing the lane". He lives in a rural area but the school is not -- it was just a funny thing to envisage!

When I was at school a pupil was asked for his homework, he said 'The dog ate it' not the most original excuse. But then the teacher said 'Oh! Well, what are you going to do about that then?'

The boy replied 'I'll feed the dog in future'

I couldn't go home yesterday because there was a WWII unexploded bomb.

Twas true.

I had a letter from a mum explaining that her daughter hadn't done her homework due to being "on heat". It later turned out that they meant that she had got her first period and this had resulted in an evening trying to find an open store to buy sanitary towels (rural location).

LOL, was her daughter a collie?

I'm clearly being ridiculously forgetful this week because I had the best excuse ever last week but can't remember for the life of me what it was...

^World's most pointless post?^

I once had to tell a teacher I couldn't hand in my essay because my mum had been sick on it. It was absolutely true but mortifying at the same time.

I once had a pupil tell me rather sheepishly that she hadn't done her homework because her brother had been unexpectedly rushed to hospital for emergency surgery. I didn't believe her (let's just say she was a serial offender) and pressed her for an explanation as to what the emergency was in front of the whole class.

It turned out the brother had twisted down there in a game of rugby, and had needed emergency surgery because unless untwisted quickly, said body part 'dies' and has to be amputated.

I don't know who was more embarrassed, her or me