A teenage boy is being questioned on suspicion of attempted murder after a teacher was stabbed in a secondary school corridor.
The male teacher was taken to hospital with a single stab wound after being attacked at Tewkesbury Academy in Gloucestershire just after 9am on Monday.
The academy was locked down and two neighbouring schools were also asked to shut their doors as a “precaution”, Assistant Chief Constable Richard Ocone of Gloucestershire Police said.
A teenager, from Tewkesbury, allegedly fled the scene and was arrested by armed officers in the nearby Stoke Orchard area at 11am.
A knife has been recovered.
The teacher remains in hospital in a stable condition, police said.
Speaking to reporters outside the school on Monday afternoon, Mr Ocone said: “At this stage, the motivation behind the attack is unclear but at this time there is no evidence to suggest it is terrorism-related.”
Tewkesbury Academy, a state secondary school for 11 to 18-year-olds, is part of the Cabot Learning Federation, a multi-academy trust responsible for a number of academies in the South West of England.
Pupils were reunited with their families on Monday afternoon – with some leaving school earlier – after lockdown was lifted.
There were tears and hugs as the youngsters were let go.
Year seven pupil Katie Gardiner, 12, was collected from the school gates by her parents Martyn and Julia Gardiner.
“It was quite scary as we had never had anything like that before. My old primary school also got shut down,” the schoolgirl told the PA news agency.
I am deeply concerned by reports of a stabbing at Tewkesbury School. We are closely monitoring the situation and remain hugely grateful to the emergency services who are currently on the scene. My department is on hand to support the school as the situation unfolds.
— Gillian Keegan MP (@GillianKeegan) July 10, 2023
Among the parents was Michelle Smith, who was waiting for her 13-year-old son Alex, who is in year eight.
Mrs Smith said she was “very relieved” to be able to collect him.
The injured teacher is “very popular” with parents and pupils alike, she told PA.
Mrs Smith said: “He is one of those teachers you know you can email him or talk to him. He gets back to you and I am really, really, very concerned about him at the moment.
“I have got everything crossed for him. We know the kids are safe now, we just need to know that he is OK.”
Alex told PA: “The school had just started and we went to our first lesson and we didn’t know what was going on.
“But it was all right until the teacher locked the door and we were in that same lesson for four or five hours.”
The teenager said the stabbed teacher is one of his favourites and organises school trips.
A Tewkesbury Academy spokesman said: “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.”
Downing Street said Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s thoughts are with those affected by the stabbing, while Education Secretary Gillian Keegan said the Department for Education (DfE) is “on hand” to support the school.
Earlier on Monday, teachers at the nearby Tirlebrook Primary School posted on Facebook to say their school had also been locked down on police advice.
Mr Ocone said: “The suspect, a teenage boy from Tewkesbury, was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder and remains in police custody.
“This was clearly a very distressing incident and our thoughts are with the victim, their family and everyone impacted by what happened here at the school.”
He added: “Searches have continued in order to ensure there were no further casualties and we can now confirm that no-one else was injured in this attack.”
Ms Keegan said she is “deeply concerned” by the attack.
She tweeted: “My department is on hand to support the school as the situation unfolds.”
Mr 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.”
Geoff Barton, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders union, said: “While we are not aware of the details of what has happened, this is clearly an appalling incident and the teacher concerned and all affected are in our thoughts and prayers.”
