The Quebec private school that fired an elderly theatre teacher after learning she appeared nude in erotic films more than 40 years ago has admitted it may have overreacted.

"We recognize that the whole issue could have been handled different, and it’s necessary to correct the situation," Le College Jean-de-Brebeuf said in a statement.

Jaqueline Laurent-Auger, 73, had been teaching at the school for 15 years when she was dismissed in July.

Some of her students found video excerpts from two erotic French films she’d starred in when she was a young actress in 1972 and 1973, including one called The Diary of a Nymphomaniac.

Laurent-Auger insisted they were art films, not pornography, and only a small part of her long acting career.

"The college management is absurd. There was nothing mean or dirty in these films," Laurent-Auger said Monday.

At the time, school officials said that since the videos emerged the "climate" in Laurent-Auger’s classroom was "not conductive to learning."

On Tuesday, however, the school reversed its decision, saying it has contacted Laurent-Auger about returning to her job.