Teacher at Tewkesbury school hailed a 'hero' after being stabbed 'while stopping a fight'
10 July 2023, 15:16 | Updated: 10 July 2023, 16:10
A teacher who tried to break up a fight at a school in Tewkesbury has been hailed a "hero" by parents.
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Police were called at 9.10am on Monday following reports that a teacher had been stabbed. The teacher is believed to be in a stable condition.
Anxious parents gathered outside the school throughout day, with some suggesting a male teacher may have been injured after intervening in a fight between pupils, The Telegraph reports.
Meanwhile, a father of a pupil who attends the academy said that a teacher "barricaded the door" to keep pupils safe.
"The teacher sat right by the door. He barricaded the door, put some boxes there and kept everyone cool even though he must have been scared himself," he added.
A teenage boy has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder.
Pupils were allowed to leave the school shortly before 2pm after the school was put into lockdown.
A spokesperson for Tewkesbury Academy said: "Shortly before 9am today, staff were alerted to a serious incident which left a male member of staff in need of hospital treatment.
"School leaders immediately contacted police and placed the site into lockdown in line with our robust safeguarding procedures.
"Police have been on site throughout the morning and supporting us to ensure pupils were kept safe and secure while the incident was investigated. Officers have since arrested a teenage boy in connection with this incident.
"We will now be following police guidance in how to ease the lockdown before releasing students to return home.
"No decision has yet been made on when the school will reopen, but we will be drawing up plans to support our students and staff in the wake of this incident.
"We are grateful to all our staff, parents and students for their patience and understanding during what has been a difficult morning, while our thoughts are with our injured colleague - we wish him a swift and successful recovery."
Reacting to the incident, Rishi Sunak's official spokesman said: "It is a live investigation, but the Prime Minister’s thoughts are with the individual who has been injured and with the staff and pupils of the school who would obviously be extremely concerned.
"He wants to thank the police and emergency services for their ongoing response."
Read More: Schoolboy arrested after 'teacher stabbed' at school in Gloucestershire
Parents and carers of pupils at the school were advised to go to Dobbies Garden Centre on Diamond Road to get assistance from police.
Parents were originally sent a message from the school at around 9.30 saying: "A message to all parents and carers: Tewkesbury Academy has gone into lockdown this morning.'Please do not attend the site or ring. We will make more information available shortly."
A spokesperson for the South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust (SWASFT) said: "We were called at 09:08hrs to an incident in Tewkesbury on Monday 10 July. We sent three double-crewed land ambulances and two operations officers. We conveyed one patient by land to Gloucester Royal Hospital."
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Meanwhile, teachers at the nearby Tirlebrook Primary School said in a Facebook post that the school had also been locked down on police advice.
"An incident has occurred this morning at Tewkesbury Academy and we have been advised by Tewkesbury Police to put in place a lock down," they said.
"We have a police presence at school and are being fully supported at this time. We would like to reassure all families that children at Tirlebrook and Little Oaks are safe and well.
"We must ask that families do not come to school during this time as this could compromise the police operation currently underway and also compromise the safety of the children.
"During this situation all school staff will be supporting the children and liaising with the police so we would ask that you do not attempt to communicate with the school office.
"We thank you all for your support and will update you as soon as possible when we know more."
Gloucestershire Police said in a statement: "An adult has been taken to hospital with a suspected stab wound following an incident at Tewkesbury School.
"We were called around 9.10am today (Monday) with a report a pupil had stabbed a teacher. A teenage boy has been arrested in connection with the incident."
