A former Canterbury head teacher has come under fire after the father of one of his pupils found out his son had died in a car crash when it was posted on the school’s website.

There have been calls for Gino Carminati - the head at Kent College from 2002 to 2007 – to step down after news of the death of 13-year-old William Avery-Wright was put online before his father Christopher had been told.

The teenager was knocked down by a Land Rover as he crossed a main road on his way to rugby practice.

He was taken to hospital after the accident at £30,000-a-year Worth School in Crawley, West Sussex, where he was later pronounced dead.

Mr Avery-Wright was contacted but only told his son had been injured.

But as he was being driven by police to hospital, he was inundated with messages of condolence on his mobile phone from well-wishers who had read about the death on the school’s web page.

Staff had posted a hasty tribute to the youngster before the 48-year-old insurance broker had been informed his son had died.

William’s mother Lisa was already at the hospital, but had been advised not to break news of his death to her husband until he was there.

She said: "I was taken to hospital by the police. They said not to tell Christopher what had happened on the phone and that it was an appalling way to break the news.”

But the Roman Catholic boarding school wasted no time in announcing the pupil’s death online, publishing a tribute and sending out an email to parents.

It led to William’s parents calling for Mr Carminati to resign.

But the dad-of-two, who was also head at Faversham’s Queen Elizabeth’s Grammar School from 1997 to 2002, has been exonerated by his board of governors.

Mrs Avery-Wright said: “The school made the decision to post the news on its website almost immediately – before William’s body had even been formally identified.

“So many people read about it on Facebook and Christopher was flooded with messages, emails and texts. We have no idea why the school would have done that. My husband should not have found out on his way to the hospital.”

Mrs Avery-Wright, 43, told how shortly after the 2pm accident she had arrived at the crash scene.

She said: "I saw the road cordoned off and I remember seeing William’s boots alone on the road and I knew immediately. I just broke down."

William’s parents are now suing the school for allegedly failing in its duty of care to their son. They say they have been “living a life sentence” since his death in November 2011 – aggravated by the way Mr Avery-Wright learned of the tragedy.

Mrs Avery-Wright, who suffered post-traumatic stress disorder after the ordeal, said: “For a few weeks after I just gave up and curled up on the sofa and cried. I was in total shock. I was traumatised at what had happened.”

William’s parents say the school added to their agony by asking them to remove tributes from the roadside less than five weeks after his death.

A spokesman for Worth School said: “What was published on the day of the accident was done in good faith and in the belief that William’s parents had been informed of his death. Sadly, it transpired the school’s understanding was incorrect.

“On the date of the accident the school attempted at all times to act correctly and it deeply regrets if any of its actions contributed to the distress of Mr and Mrs Avery-Wright.”