Warwick's Aylesford School head praises pupils for getting through 'difficult day' after incidents

Yesterday morning (Thursday September 24), police received reports of a driver deliberately driving towards a teacher outside Aylesford School at about 8.30am.

Reports suggest that the driver then made threats towards the school.

The school issued a statement to reassure the community that staff and its pupils were safe.

Officers patrolled the area around the school and were also around the area for the end of the school day.

Last night, Warwickshire Police said a 14-year-old girl from Warwick was arrested on suspicion of assault - ABH, while a 46-year-old man from Nottingham and a 43-year-old woman from Warwick were both arrested on suspicion of assault - GBH.

Prior the arrests being announced, Andy Perry, the headteacher at Aylesford, issued a statement explaining what had happened yesterday and also praised pupils for getting through ‘a difficult day’.

Here is Mr Perry’s statement:

You may be aware, there was an unpleasant series of incidents this morning, before school started, around our school gate and local community.

Around 8.30am, students reported to members of staff that there were two adults, both with deliberately concealed faces, acting in a threatening way and making some direct threats.

The two adults approached the school, continued to make threats and act in an aggressive manner and in a couple of cases, put their hands on our students.

Staff ushered students into the school as the threatening adults got in their car and drove away, narrowly missing a member of staff who was moving the students into school.

I am pleased to say that all our students and staff are safe and uninjured.

Our immediate response was to lock all our gates and have them manned all day to ensure a secure site.

We contacted the police, started collecting written statements from students who had seen what happened or had been directly threatened.

We prioritised supporting students who were more directly involved, including contacting parents, gathering all the statements and other information from students who made themselves known.

Police have all the information now, including all our CCTV and are continuing their enquiries, contacting the school regularly.

Most of the day was then spent trying to calm students who were understandably worried and trying to settle them in class.

At the end of the school day, there were police patrols around the community and lots of staff around the gates and local streets.

The police have assured me they will be present again tomorrow morning and afternoon as well as regular patrols throughout the day.

There were a lot of students who saw these incidents before school and made sure their statements were taken.

None of our students want this type of thing around their school and through their actions have ensured the police have a wealth of information.

Whilst we did make a lot of calls home today, it is likely not all students who made statements or who made themselves known to us had a call home due to the numbers and our prioritising those directly affected.

If that is the case, I am sorry that we didn't get to call you but if you believe your child has information which would help, please encourage them to approach us tomorrow or go directly to the police.

Please thank your children on my behalf. It was a difficult day but overwhelmingly they got on with school life, classes, breaks, lunches etc leaving us to support others.

Today was unacceptable but please rest assured I will make any decision necessary to keep our children safe in our school.

This morning (Friday September 25), Mr Perry issued a further statement, once again praising pupils for getting on with their school day.

He said: “There is a great atmosphere around the school and local area this morning, with lots of staff around and the police are making patrols as well. Pretty much all our students were just getting on with their day as they usually would with that slightly weary optimism a Friday brings.

“Further to my letter yesterday, I can confirm that appropriate actions have been taken by the school concerning all those involved to ensure the safety of our school community. You will understand that I cannot comment further, now that legal processes are underway.

“The police are keeping me informed of their presence in the local community which we saw yesterday and this morning and is very reassuring.

“As mentioned yesterday, these people did put their hands on several of our students and that went further towards assault and related crimes with a small number. Those students were our priority yesterday. They were all checked in on during school and were all fine, albeit very shaken by what had happened.

“I understand there has been some concern expressed in the community about their welfare and I can reassure you all that they are okay.

“Today is about getting back to normal, teaching, learning, high standards and looking forward to a pleasant weekend.”