Staffordshire school placed in lockdown day after pupil killed in Sheffield

Nick Horner & Hayley Parker

4 February 2025 at 11:21 am·2-min read

-Credit:Reach Publishing Services Limited

A Staffordshire school was placed in a lockdown after an ex-pupil entered the site. The former student went on the Chase Terrace Academy premises in Burntwood on today (February 4) at around 12noon.

When they refused to leave the school put its lockdown procedure into action and called the police. Staffordshire Police arrived ‘quickly’ and the former pupil was removed from the site. They are said to no longer be in the local area. The school wrote to parents and carers to assure them that at no point were any pupils at risk.

Tensions may have been heightened after a 15-year-old schoolboy, Harvey Willgoose was stabbed to death at All Saints Catholic High School in Sheffield around 24 hours before, just after midday on Monday (February 3).

Meanwhile, Birches Head Academy went into a partial lockdown on Monday after at least six Stoke-on-Trent schools were sent a threatening email.

A letter from headteacher, Nicola Mason, at the Burnwood school said: “Today at around 12 noon we had an incident whereby an ex-student was on site in our main reception and refused to leave site. As a precaution, a lockdown procedure was initiated to ensure that staff were able to keep students in classrooms and be absolutely sure that students were safe should the incident escalate.

“At no point were any students at risk, and the situation was contained within the main reception. Police attended quickly and removed the ex-student who is no longer in the local area.

“As a parent myself I completely understand the stress and worry that such procedures bring. Please be reassured that our children are our first priority and we do everything we can to put their safety first - in this case we proactively locked down to prevent any risk to our school community. I was present throughout the whole situation and am confident that there is no further risk.”

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