Teacher stabbed at school in Tewkesbury hailed ‘true hero’ as fundraiser launched
Victim, named locally as Jamie Sansom, is a well-liked maths teacher at Tewkesbury Academy in Gloucestershire, parents said
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A teacher stabbed at a school in Gloucestershire has been hailed a “true hero” as a fundraiser in support of him has been launched.
Police said the victim, named locally as maths teacher Jamie Sansom, was attacked in the corridor of Tewkesbury Academy on Monday morning.
He was taken to hospital with a single stab wound and discharged that evening. On Tuesday morning the school said he was “recovering well” following the incident, having been in a “serious but stable” condition.
A teenage boy from Tewkesbury has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder on Monday and remains in police custody.
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On Tuesday morning, a spokesman for the school said: “Following careful assessment and consultation with police, Tewkesbury Academy reopened today. We feel it is important for our students to be able to return to a sense of normality in their school, where we will be providing a range of additional mental and emotional support for students and staff.
“Police will retain a presence at the school for the coming days to provide reassurance. We are pleased to confirm the Tewkesbury colleague injured in yesterday’s incident has been discharged from hospital and is recovering well. He has expressed his gratitude for the many positive messages he has received.
A Gofundme appeal set up in support of Mr Sansom described him as “a true hero”, claiming he had “risked his life” during the incident.
The academy was put in lockdown on Monday while police attended, and two neighbouring schools were also asked to shut their doors as a “precaution”, Assistant Chief Constable Richard Ocone of Gloucestershire Police 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,” he said in a statement. “This was clearly a very distressing incident and our thoughts are with the victim, their family and everyone impacted by what happened.
“We are working with the school and other agencies to ensure appropriate support is available and local people will see more police in the area over the coming days as the investigation continues.”
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 said. “The teachers did a really good job in keeping us calm.”
Her mother said: “Hearing about it this morning felt very strange – it doesn’t happen here. I know it sounds a cliche and you see it happening on the news in other places.”
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 said.
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 said: “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.”
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.
Patrick Roach, general secretary of the NASUWT teaching union, said: “This is a deeply shocking and distressing incident and our thoughts are with all staff, pupils and parents at the school.
“The immediate priority must be to support pupils and staff who will have been deeply affected by what has happened and we will be offering whatever support is needed at this difficult time.”