THE joker in the classroom has long been the arch-rival of secondary school teachers.

But for a UCS Spanish teacher this was literally the case when he joined colleagues for a charity calendar.

With forgotten homework as their kryptonite, and the words “don’t make me angry” probably a regular part of their classroom interaction, teachers at the private school became superheroes and villains for a 2011 calendar.

Mixing the photographs with animation by the students, money raised from sales will go to the Unicef Pakistan Flood Appeal.

Already hundreds have been sold – presumably to young super-villains hoping to keep the humiliation going well into the new year.

History teacher Andrew Wilkes posed in a huge red Lycra suit and bright yellow boots as Flash in the calendar. “I got talked into it,” he laughed. “Parading around in Lycra for a photo shoot is not what I imagined I’d be doing at school.

“The boys have been heavily involved in fundraising for a long time. The footage of us posing for pictures was shown in assembly and it caused quite a lot of amusement.”

Pupils took photographs of 15 teachers from the junior and senior school. They then painted backdrops before the calendar was professionally printed and bound.

But, for some teachers, only a made-up alter-ego would work.

Head of maths David Robb, who stars as the Evil Mathematician, said: “Helping out with the calendar was a pleasure.

“The boys who organised it did an amazing job and were extremely courteous and professional throughout.

“Maths world domination, however, is not all it’s cracked up to be and I’ve decided to give up my evil ways and focus on being just a humble head of department.”

Geography teacher and sixth-form tutor Russell Chapman, aka Earth Man, found it hard to come back down to earth after the inter-galactic adventures.

“As the only genuine superhero, I had to get involved,” he said. “Captain Planet has nothing on me and a chance to fight for a good cause could not be missed.

“I will do anything to help map out a better future for those in need.”

Back down on earth, pupil Joe Grabiner, 16, of Hampstead Garden Suburb, who helped produce the calendar, said students were grateful that their teachers were willing to swap sides and take their orders instead for the project.

He said: “After two months of work and the amazing enthusiasm of 15 members of staff who were only too willing to humiliate themselves, we produced a really exciting calendar for 2011. We have sold more than 350 copies in just six weeks.”

The calendar, costing �12, is now available from the school office and can be paid for in cash or by cheque. Anyone interested in purchasing a copy should email the school office at seniorschool@ucs.org.uk or on 020-7435 2215.