'Community tensions' blamed for school disturbance

A disturbance at a school in Sheffield which saw several pupils and members of staff injured was the result of "community tensions", its headteacher has said.

Officers were called to Fir Vale Academy, on Owler Lane, at about noon on Thursday, when an altercation led to "broader pockets of disorder" among students in the grounds, South Yorkshire Police said.

In a letter to the parents and carers of pupils, the school said: "We are clear the school is not the appropriate forum for community tensions to be addressed and the school should be a place of respect, learning and stability."

The letter said the school would be taking "taking swift, strong and decisive action" following the incident.

Earlier, an update on the disorder from South Yorkshire Police confirmed it had spilled over from the Page Hall area of the city.

A number of staff members and students suffered minor injuries, with one adult taken to hospital with injuries that were not life-threatening or life-changing and were not caused by an assault.

In the letter, principal Danny Bullock said: "We will not allow tensions from outside to impact on the day to day running of the school.

"Please be assured that we are taking this incident extremely seriously and we will be working with those across the community to ensure it does not recur."

Bullock said he wanted to thank staff and the majority of students who were not involved, "for their calmness and responsibility during what was an unsettling event".

He added: "We will be doing everything within our power to ensure that those responsible for the incident are dealt with effectively by the police and the relevant authorities."

South Yorkshire Police said additional officers would remain in Page Hall over the weekend to "deter crime and anti-social behaviour and reassure the local community".

Supt Paul Ferguson, said: "We know that this incident has caused some concern in the community. Our officers who are in the area have reported the streets being quieter than usual.

"We are working closely with the school and other services, to ensure intelligence from younger generations is gathered and any concerns they have are addressed."

On 2 February, police dog units had to be sent to Page Hall to deal with reports of a large street brawl involving people armed with poles and pieces of wood.

Seven males aged between 17 and 53 were arrested on suspicion of violent disorder over the disturbance on Firth Park Road.

One police officer suffered a minor injury when they were struck by a thrown object.

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