Wales school stabbing: Hard to comprehend events, teachers say
- Published
Teachers Fiona Elias (left) and Liz Hopkin (right) were injured at the school in Carmarthenshire on Wednesday
Two teachers injured in a stabbing at a school in south-west Wales have said it is hard to comprehend what happened and thanked everyone for kind messages.
Fiona Elias, Liz Hopkin and a pupil were injured at Ysgol Dyffryn Aman in Ammanford on Wednesday.
A 13-year-old girl appeared at Llanelli Magistrates' Court earlier charged with three counts of attempted murder.
Assistant head teacher Ms Elias said she could not comprehend what staff and pupils had been through.
She said: "From the bottom of my heart, my family and I would like to say a huge thank you for all the messages we have received from far and wide over the past few days.
"I am deeply indebted to the police, ambulance service, and the NHS staff in Morriston [hospital in Swansea] for their excellent care and quick response."
She also thanked the air ambulance service for its "excellent" care of her colleague, Ms Hopkin.
She added: "I would like to thank all members of staff for prioritising the welfare and safety of pupils at the school for four hours, and the pupils for responding so maturely and sensibly in a situation that no-one expects to happen.
Pupils were locked down for about four hours
"One of our school's core values is 'resilience', and there is no doubt that pupils have demonstrated this value in coping with a situation they should never have experienced.
"The last few days have shown that there is no other community quite like the Ysgol Dyffryn Aman."
She said those in the school community would be supporting each other in the coming days and weeks.
Ms Hopkin said she was "deeply indebted" to the emergency services.
"It is hard to comprehend that this has happened," she said.
"However, I would like to take this opportunity to thank our school community for all the support and kind messages that I have received.
"I have been overwhelmed by the kindness from the close community that we have here.
"I believe what we need now is time to reflect on what has happened."
Both teachers asked for privacy.
The girl appeared at Llanelli Magistrates' Court on Friday morning
The teenage girl, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, was remanded to youth detention accommodation when she appeared in court on Friday.
She will next appear at Swansea Crown Court on 24 May.
Meanwhile, a 15-year-old boy who was arrested later on Wednesday after police received reports about messages on social media referring to the stabbings has been released on bail.
Dyfed-Powys Police executed a warrant at the boy's home in the nearby Cross Hands area, and recovered a BB gun.
Where is Ysgol Dyffryn Aman?
Ysgol Dyffryn Aman - which translates as Amman Valley School in English - is a bilingual comprehensive school in Ammanford, Carmarthenshire.
The school, which educates 11 to 18-year-olds, has about 1,450 pupils.
It is about 20 miles (32km) from the centre of Swansea and 60 miles (97km) from Cardiff.