School staff hurt by fireworks
TWO members of Runcorn high school staff suffered hearing damage after yob students set off bangers near them.
The shocking incident took place at Ormiston Bolingbroke Academy (OBA) in Runcorn last Tuesday, November 5.
A spokeswoman for Ormiston Academies Trust, which operates the secondary school, said the bangers were set off during students’ free time and not during a lesson and that ‘appropriate sanctions’ have been imposed on the culprits.
She did not confirm whether the injured staff were teachers or if they had to go to hospital.
The incident happened during the day of Bonfire Night and came amid a swell of calls to ban fireworks due to their misuse and after a string of appalling unconnected incidents.
In Runcorn on October 30, fireworks are believed to have been used to shatter a car windscreen, and in Widnes a 15-year-old was injured after a firework was thrown in his face.
Over in Barnsley, a puppy died after suffering a heart attack believed to have been caused by a firework.
A member of the public said that one of the casualties in the incident at OBA was a teacher and that those responsible,
● believed to be in Year 11, have been excluded. Some essential details of the incident have been confirmed by the school.
The Ormiston spokeswoman said: “An incident took place on Tuesday, in which students released ‘bangers’ on the school property and two staff members sustained minor injuries to their hearing as a result.
“The staff members involved received treatment and are expected to make a full recovery.
“The safety and wellbeing of both students and staff is our number one priority and we take any incident which risks health and safety, extremely seriously.
“We can not tolerate this kind of behaviour and the students involved have received the appropriate sanctions in line with our behaviour policy.
“We have well established codes of behaviour in place for students to follow, which the majority of our students adhere to and we are proud of the high standards of behaviour and discipline at the academy.”
Cheshire Constabulary said it the incident did not appear to have been reported.