Parents of youngest Manchester bombing victim open memorial at her primary school

Friends of Saffie Roussous, who died aged eight two years ago, today released balloons to mark what would have been her eleventh birthday

(Lancashire Telegraph / SWNS)

The parents of the youngest victim who died in the Manchester Arena bombing have returned to her primary school to open a memorial garden.

Andrew and Lisa Roussos lost their daughter Saffie aged just eight when she was among 22 killed at an Ariana Grande concert in May 2017.

On Saturday they returned to Tarleton Community School for the first time to unveil a flowery patch with a bench and plaque dedicated to her memory.

At a ceremony surrounded by tearful friends and family including Saffie's young brother, Xander, her parents cut a pink ribbon to open the garden at her former school.

While her friends held teddy bears, the small gathering then sang happy birthday to Saffie, who would have been 11 last Thursday, before releasing balloons.

Addressing the quiet gathering at the garden, which features six roses in full bloom and stones painted in rainbow colours by Saffie's friends, Mr Roussos stressed how 'special' the patch was.

“We as a family find it difficult to come back to the school for obvious reasons," he said.

“But there is no better place for us to be.

Friends of Saffie Roussos brought teddy bears to the opening of the memorial garden at her former school (SWNS)

“When we meet people they always ask us what Saffie’s character was like but coming here and being with you, we don’t have to explain it.

“What’s happened is very difficult to deal with, particularly at your age. It’s very tough.

“It was so important to get this garden done. You are moving on to high school. This garden will always be here. Saffie will always be here.

“It’s a special place for all of us."

As well as coming to terms with her own grief, Ms Rousos has also spent the last two years recovering from the life-changing injuries she received at the Manchester Arena show.

She only learned that she had lost her daughter after waking from a six week coma, and suffered 117 shrapnel wounds.

She said that the difficult step of going back was a way of allowing not just her family, but also the school's pupils to move on while remembering her daughter fondly.

“The children here shouldn’t have had to go through what they went through," she said.

"For me, it’s still difficult to understand what happened because of the way in which it happened. Saffie will always be with them but I think it’s important for them to move forward.

"They will leave the school and head off to high school hopefully with a new fresh approach.

“She loved school, loved everybody and everybody loved her. That’s comforting. It was nice to come back and get a hug from her friends. I miss them too.

Lisa, Xander and Adrew Roussous lost their daughter Saffia aged eight in the Manchester Arena attack (SWNS)

“As difficult as it is to come back to the school and she’s not here, the other side of that is being here where she was the happiest."

Last year the Roussos family cultivated a new variety of pink rose in memory of their daughter, made possible by a crowdfunding campaign that raised almost £15,000.

Helping the young children come to terms with what happened to their friend has also been a difficult process for Chris Upton, the head teacher at Tarleton Community Primary.

He said the "rawness" of the event had not left the school community, but that staff were trying their best to support the children who are now in Year Six.

“We are having a leaving assembly for the year sixes soon and that is going to be hard," he said.

“We’ve done work around the Islamic faith. We are taking them to visit a mosque. The children need to understand that it is a religion of love and tolerance.

“As a school, we have had to find our own way. We have had children diagnosed with PTSD as a consequence of that night.

“We have worked with the Department of Education and the Home Office to provide information and make recommendations of how schools can be best supported in the wake of a terror attack.

”The garden is important in that it’s at the centre of the school, the heart of our school as Saffie is.

“It’s about life and about remembering Saffie.”

​Agencies contributed to this report