'My son doesn't feel safe going to school after mass brawl'

Parents at a Greater Manchester school say they are concerned for their children's safety after a "mass brawl" allegedly broke out among more than 30 pupils.

A number of parents at Audenshaw School, Tameside, said their children were scared to go school on Tuesday after the fight broke out on Monday.

One mum claimed a teacher was left bleeding from the event - and pupils were "locked in the astroturf area for their own safety". Another parent said her son "didn't feel safe" to go in to school.

The BBC contacted Audenshaw School, which caters to boys aged 11-16, which said an incident had been "dealt with promptly by staff". The school declined to comment further on claims by individual parents.

Greater Manchester Police said it did not attend the original incident.

There was a police presence outside the school on Tuesday at mid-morning and at pick-up time at 14:40 GMT.

Police told the BBC officers' attendance in the area was part of routine patrols.

Natacha, 39, mother to two boys at the school, said she had spoken to her children before making a decision to send them to school this morning.

"Obviously, it was a concern that there could be trouble coming back into school," she said.

"I spoke to my boys and they said they'd feel safe coming back in - they said they knew where to go and who to go to if they feel unsafe and they know I will come and pick them up if needs be.

"I've witnessed issues before with large groups of boys before. But that was last summer and I haven't seen issues since then."

Dad Danny, 36, said he had finished work early to collect his son on Tuesday after hearing about the fight on social media. "I don't know if it is true, but I didn't want to risk it," he said.

One parent of a child in Year 8, who asked to remain anonymous, told BBC Manchester she would be keeping her son off school until she was given an explanation about the events.

"The school need to assure me and other parents that the school are taking measures," she said.

She said her son and his friend returned home from school on Monday looking "shaken" after the incident.

"My son looked shaken, but his friend was visibly shaken," she said. "He was trying to tell me what had happened during the day but couldn't quite catch his breath and was a little bit upset - because he'd actually witnessed the whole incident."

The mum said she was told the fight began at 10:40 GMT - when a group of boys started a fight with another pupil.

"Teachers tried to break it up and the head teacher was punched and kicked and had blood all over her face," the mother claimed. "And other teachers were also injured.

"My son's friend was placed in the astroturf area because it's gated, so teachers placed him in there and locked the gates for their own safety."

The mother said her son and his friend reportedly saw a second fight break out after school at about 14:50 GMT outside the school gates.

"Teachers were running over the bridge trying to split another fight up," she said.

The mum said she feared weapons could be involved in future and tried to contact the school for more information but, after receiving no reply, decided to keep her son home from school on Tuesday.

She said she knew of "a dozen parents" who had also chosen not to send their child to the school earlier.

"I've heard the larger group of boys was allowed back in to school today," she said.

"I don't feel safe sending my child to school whilst that threat is still there."

Another mum said she had chosen to keep her Year 11 son home after he also witnessed the incident.

"He has said he clearly doesn't feel safe going to school," she said. "So he won't be going until I know it's safe."

"There were just loads and loads of boys on this one lad," the mother claimed.

"There was a lot of boys involved. But, obviously, if they weren't then god knows what state this one lad would have been in.

"It would be accurate to describe it as a mass brawl. They just kept going and going and going for it."

The concerned parent said she was "furious" to have been contacted by the school earlier to be asked why her son had not arrived.

"I told them he won't be in until I've spoken to a teacher involved and I know it's safe - because they clearly can't keep them safe," she said.

"I'm furious at the fact that I've not been contacted at all about the situation.

"If I don't get a phone call today, I'll be going in myself tomorrow."

The BBC contacted Audenshaw School and the Audenshaw School Academy Trust to ask about the specific claims made by parents.

The school said it would not be commenting on the claims, but said in a statement: "We are aware of an incident involving students at Audenshaw School yesterday.

"The matter was dealt with promptly by staff and we are supporting all students and families involved.

"The welfare and wellbeing of our students is, and always will be, our absolute priority.

"We will not be issuing any further comment at this time."

In a note sent to parents and carers, seen by the BBC, the school said they wanted to "reassure" parents and had contacted the families who had been directly affected.

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