A teenage boy has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after a secondary school teacher was stabbed at a school in Gloucestershire.
Emergency services were called to Tewkesbury Academy in Ashchurch Road shortly after the school day began on Monday.
The male teacher was taken to hospital in a “stable” condition after being stabbed in a corridor, police said. No pupils were injured in the incident.
He was discharged from hospital on Monday evening, police confirmed - while the arrested teenager remained in custody.
Assistant Chief Constable Richard Ocone told reporters outside Tewkesbury Academy in Gloucestershire earlier Monday: “Just after 9am we received a call from someone telling us about a threat to a teacher at Tewkesbury Academy.
“Minutes later we received a call from the ambulance service telling us that a male teacher had been stabbed in a corridor at the school.
“He was taken to hospital with a single stab wound and remains in a stable condition.”
A teenager, from Tewkesbury, fled the scene and was arrested by armed officers in the nearby Stoke Orchard area on suspicion of attempted murder. A knife was recovered.
Mr Ocone 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. However, we are keeping an open mind while further inquiries are carried out."
The school was placed into lockdown for about four hours - finally lifting at roughly 1pm when Tewkesbury Academy confirmed on its website children were allowed to leave.
In a statement issued at lunchtime on Monday, the school’s headteacher Kathleen McGillycuddy confirmed no pupils were injured.
“We appreciate that this morning has been a worrying time for all associated with Tewkesbury Academy,” she said. “We are writing to reassure you that all pupils remain safe and well.”
Michelle Smith, whose 13-year-old son Alex is in Year 8, said she was very relieved to be able to collect him from school after getting the shock news on Monday morning.
Speaking to the PA news agency, she said: “Very relieved. You get the message from school to say the school has been locked down and it says urgent.
“You open it and you’re at work and you go on to Facebook to see if you can see anything and here is so many different stories going on there - so you tend to panic a little bit.
“Then you hear that a teacher has been stabbed and the children are all locked down. The first instinct is to get to the school as quickly as you can, which I didn’t do, and I listened to the school and stayed away as long as I possibly can.”
The stabbed teacher is “very popular" with parents and pupils alike, she added.
“He is one of those teachers you know you can email him or talk to him,” she said. “He gets back to you and I am really, really very concerned about him at the moment. I have got everything crossed for him.”
South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust (SWASFT) was called to the incident shortly before 9.10am, and sent three ambulances to the scene.
One patient was taken to Gloucester Royal Hospital, a spokesperson said.
Teachers at nearby Tirlebrook Primary School posted a message on Facebook said it was also locked down for a time.
Rishi Sunak’s official spokesperson said on Monday the prime minister’s thoughts were with the injured staff member.
“It is a live investigation, but the Prime Minister’s thoughts are with the individual who has been injured and with the staff and pupils of the school who would obviously be extremely concerned,” said the spokesperson.
