Poole High School has apologised ‘unreservedly’ for getting pupils to write letters to David Cameron asking him not to cut teachers’ pensions.

Parents of Year Six pupils sitting tests to get into the school’s higher academic stream were shocked to find they’d had to write to the Prime Minister criticising the planned reduction in public sector pensions.

Last week’s row erupted after schools across the county closed on Wednesday as thousands of workers, including teachers, went out on strike.

Fan Heafield, Deputy Headteacher of Poole High School, said: “Students are required to take a three-hour academic test as part of the school’s annual admission process.

“This includes a short writing task on a topical subject in the media, of which the students may have some knowledge.

“The purpose of the exercise is to assess students’ competency in spelling, punctuation, structure of writing and vocabulary.

“The writing produced by students in this task is intended solely for the purpose of internal marking by an experienced teacher and is not for wider distribution to external individuals or organisations.

“Clearly, on this occasion, the subject chosen for this task was inappropriate and we would like to apologise unreservedly for any concerns this may have caused parents or students.

“We will ensure that our pre-test procedures do not allow this situation to arise again.”

Youngsters sat the 11-plus style exam at the end of November.

One concerned parent told the Daily Echo: “Surely this is far too political, especially at the moment, for 11-year-olds to be questioned on.

“I believe a number of the children even had to ask what a pension was.”