Below is the full text of a letter written by the headteacher of Berrywood Primary School to parents of pupils at the school following the Thriller incident.

To read the full story about how the children came to watch Thriller at school, read our full story.

Dear Year 3 Parents,

It is with considerable regret that I am writing to you to apologise that the children in classes KP/3 and CF/3 were yesterday shown the Michael Jackson ‘Thriller’ music video without parental consent being sought.

With hindsight, it is also regrettable that more careful consideration of the content and the potential impact on the children was not applied before they watched it. I understand that some of the children have been disturbed as a result of watching this and I take full responsibility; and again apologise unreservedly on behalf of the school.

This matter has been addressed internally and you have my assurance that no such instance will occur in the future. All of the Year 3 team will keep a special eye out for any adverse effects and address these accordingly.

For the purposes of clarification, music videos are not subject to an age classification (although a pilot scheme was introduced on 1st October 2014), however, films are. The longer version of the Thriller video is classified by the British Board of Film Classification to be a short film. The children did not watch all of this version and the vast majority of the content shown was the dance sequence. I have sought advice from the Hampshire legal team prior to writing this letter and have provided them with a copy to keep on record.

I fully understand the concern and anger felt by parents as a result of this error. I am confident that lessons have been learnt and the right steps have been taken as a result. I am now hopeful that we can work together to put the matter behind us.

Yours sincerely, Chris Reilly Headteacher