School criticised for using suicide as example in physics equation

The school's director said it was a 'tactless act'

The Pont Bessières bridge in Lausanne (Serge Mercier/Flickr)

A school has been criticised after a teacher used suicide as an equation example in a lesson.

An unidentified teacher posed the question to 14 and 15-year-old students in a physics lesson at a school in Lausanne, Switzerland.

"Mr. Durant decided to end his life, specifically by jumping off of the Pont Bessières bridge,” the question began.

"He reaches the bottom with a speed of 77 kilometres per hour.

“How high must the bridge be?"

The Pont Bessières bridge is a well-known suicide spot in Lausanne.

School director Jean-François Borgeaud admitted to Swiss news site 20 Minuten that a "tactless act had been committed".

"We will ensure that something like this does not happen again in the future," he added.

"We will meet with the students from his class to make sure that no one felt traumatised."

The exercise was criticised by suicide prevention campaigners.

"Imagine the pain felt by a student who perhaps lost a parent or another person close to them due to suicide," said Stop Suicide spokeswoman Irina Inostroza to 20 Minuten.

"We encourage all schools to approach the topic of suicide with good judgement and care. One should neither trivialize it, nor speak about it in brutal language.

“The subject of death is always a shock for all concerned."

The incident comes two months after Lausanne resident and ‘world’s best chef’ Benoit Violier was found to have killed himself at his home elsewhere in the town.

The Samaritans can be contacted on 116 123.