Tears as pupils return to school
After Dunblane: Children take first step back to normality as Howard backs crackdown on sex offenders
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Your support makes all the difference.Some ran and skipped through the main gates, some greeted friends, but there were others who kept close to their anxious parents. It was no ordinary day for the children of Dunblane as they returned yesterday to their primary school for the first time since the massacre nine days ago which left 16 children, their teacher and their killer dead.
Many parents paused at the school gates to hug their children and speak some private words of encouragement. As they left, some of the adults had tears in their eyes when they emerged from the school after taking in their children.
Educational psychologists and counsellors were on hand to support the 700 children on their first faltering steps to normality. School began as usual at 9am but it was for half a day only, with no assembly, no playtime breaks, and ending at noon. The gym where the massacre happened was sealed and its windows boarded up.
As the children began to gather inside the building one of their injured classmates, Matthew Birnie, aged 5, was allowed home from hospital. And the Archbishop of Canterbury Dr George Carey speaking in London warned there were limits to forgiveness as he accused the Dunblane killer, Thomas Hamilton, of committing a "heinous" crime. Dr Carey spoke of the Bible's "severe judgement" on child-killers.
At the school gates, Ron Taylor, the headteacher, reflected on the first day back: "As you can imagine, this has been a long dark week full of tears ... However, the evil that came last week has gone.
"We have really one priority now - to ensure our school becomes a happy place of learning once again."
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