Judge blasts school safety in hammer trial

3:40pm Saturday 10th May 2008

LIZ Webster, who has maintained her steely demeanour throughout the legal proceedings, visibly shook with grief as the judge supported her criticism of Ridgeway School.

Sitting in the jury box of the court, because the public galley was packed full with the defendants's families, Liz, flanked by her two sons, struggled to maintain her composure as Judge Hagen expressed her shock at the school's security.

Speaking outside court, Liz, who has launched civil proceedings to sue the school for neglecting Henry, said: "It was fantastic to get that acknowledgement. It has given us the resolve to carry on."

After the jury returned the final verdicts last month, the Webster family announced plans to sue the school for an unlimited sum.

A civil claim has been lodged with the High Court, claiming an unlimited sum on the grounds that the school was negligent and failed to protect Henry Webster's human rights.

Claims have also been lodged by the family's lawyer Mark McGee on behalf of his brother Joe, Mum and stepfather Roger Durnford, to compensate them for the trauma of seeing Henry immediately after the attack.

Henry has been left permanently brain damaged since the attack and his mother believes the school should have done more to prevent it.

He has had to go to a private school that can cater for his concentration problems, and the full medical implications of his condition may not become clear for several years.

If the Webster family win their case, the school could be forced to pay them millions of pounds in compensation.

Ridgeway School governor Robert Buckland said: "Obviously we will be taking the judges comments extremely seriously.

"We have asked for transcripts to be made available to us.

"At this stage we will begin to look into this very, very serious incident.

"As a civil claim has been launched by Mrs Webster, so we will be looking at all the evidence presented in the case in the lead up to that.

"The Government are undertaking their own review of all the policies in force in schools.

"There have been a lot of incidents, other than this, where trouble has happened at schools.

"We are not taking what has happened lightly in any way.

"A thorough investigation has begun and we will be looking at everything that has been given in evidence in court to work this out.

"We are very pleased with the fact that a number of people have been brought to justice for their part in this."