Struck off teacher who faked cancer, wedding and her own death is still tutoring kids

A teacher lied about a cancer diagnosis and faked her death, but she is now reportedly working with children again after opening up a dance school in Scotland

A woman who was struck off from teaching after lying about a cancer diagnosis and even faked her own death is still working with children, it has emerged.

Lara Simpson used to teach at a Dundee primary school, before creating an elaborate sham which had her claim she had leukaemia – and even used a prosthetic leg to keep up the cruel ruse.

At the time, she claimed that ‘doctors’ just gave her sx months to live, but it all fell apart after she pretended to be her aunt in an email to staff, claiming she lost her battle with cancer.

The ploy was described by the General Teaching Council Scotland as a ‘chronic and elaborate deception’ and she was consequently banned from the classroom.

According to the Mail on Sunday, 26-year-old Lara is believed to be running a dance school for young children. As well as that, she’s apparently still teaching in mainstream schools for almost two years, despite faking her death.

In 2021, she was about to graduate with a first-class degree in Primary Education from Dundee University – this was when the lies first started. She had been on placement at a school, and reportedly told staff she was starting chemotherapy after a shock leukaemia diagnosis.

When colleagues couldn’t reach her for two weeks, she insisted she was in intensive care. By January 2022, she was telling people that despite getting on a trial for experimental drugs, the acute lymphoblastic leukaemia was incurable and she had just six months to live.

A former colleague told Mail on Sunday: “Everyone who knows her has been left gobsmacked and angry over her complete disregard for the truth. And now to find out she is still working with children is shocking. This woman should never be allowed to be in charge of children.”

Parents and children at the dance school were unaware that Lara had done all this. In 2023, she was recognised after she joined a local Parkrun group in Thurso.

A source told The Mail on Sunday: “Someone recognised her at the park run, but thought ‘surely not’ as she was meant to have one leg, not two…and she was meant to be dead.”

A temporary restriction order was issued against Ms Simpson in March 2024. This means that while she isn’t banned from teaching, they are not allowed to move to another school during the investigation.

She told Mail on Sunday ‘that’s not me’ when confronted about what she did, and refused to comment about what happened in Dundee.

The GTCS also said it could not comment on individual cases, but said that if they revealed the teacher’s identity, it could ‘undermine the fairness and integrity of the regulatory process’ and cause ‘real harm to both children and adults.’

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