Parents feel betrayed after an Oxfordshire school masked that a celebrity visitor was none other than Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.

The PM visited Wantage Town Football Club last week on Monday, June 3, as part of his general election trail and spoke to players and staff.

An email was sent out saying King Alfred's Academy pupils would meet a person of interest before a call asked for permission for the children to miss two periods of class.

One parent who has a 14-year-old daughter on the football team was left particularly disgruntled about the lack of transparency from the school.

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Mr Sunak spoke to the players in Wantage. (Image: PA)

Speaking to the Oxford Mail anonymously, they said: “We were led to believe it was going to be someone from the sporting world wanting to promote girls' football. We thought it was going to be an England international player. 

“The football club arranged the visit so would have known who was visiting, but told the girls they would be meeting someone famous who is on TV.

“I thought meeting a famous person interested in girls' football pathways would be brilliant, then afterwards when I heard it was meeting the PM who showed little interest in girls' football.

“I felt very let down, the girls should not have been pulled out of class to be used for election material.

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“The whole thing has angered me, I feel misled because had we known they would be used for political gain, we would not have allowed her to miss class.”

“My daughter did meet Rishi, but she thought he was very fake and the whole experience very staged with questions being screened, which was a real shame.”

King Alfred's Academy responded to the parent’s claims by citing security concerns as the reason why Mr Sunak’s visit was not disclosed.

Headteacher Jonathan Smart said: "King Alfred's Academy takes very seriously its responsibility to remain politically impartial, but to also provide our young people with experiences and opportunities to engage with the political and democratic process so crucial to our British values.

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Parents felt misled by the PM's visit.Parents felt misled by the PM's visit. (Image: PA)

“Whilst we would not have entertained a visit to the school site by any politician during a campaign period, we were requested to support Wantage Town Football Club in this particular instance.

“We always try and work closely with parents but on this occasion, we were unable to provide specific details about the nature of the visit for security reasons.

“We have communicated directly with any parent who has raised a concern with the school.

“The students involved were a credit to the academy and themselves and made the most of this opportunity to meet the Prime Minister.

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The PM joined in during the visit.The PM joined in during the visit. (Image: PA)

“We were grateful to the many parents that have offered their thanks and appreciation."

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