AN interesting week news-wise as far as the hammer attack trial was concerned.
This week we saw verdicts handed down from the second trial at Bristol Crown Court following the brutal playground assault on Ridgeway School pupil Henry Webster a year ago
Sentence will be passed on those convicted from the two trials at a later date, but possibly the story which might have taken many Adver readers by surprise was the report in Thursday's paper on how poor security is at the Wroughton School some 15 months after the incident.
One of our reporters was freely able to wander about the school, through a dance class in the main hall and to a classroom where one of the teachers asked a pupil to take my reporter to reception.
This was a story we thought long and hard about; whether it was right to test the security, since we had been made aware of loopholes which did exist at Wroughton, and also how we went about it.
I made it clear to the reporter that there was to be no subterfuge. That if he was stopped and asked for his identity he was to give it, and then take the letter which he had been given to be presented to the headmaster.
The reporter wandered freely, took pictures using a mobile phone, even sat in a chemistry laboratory alone where he called the office asking how long he should stick around.
Were we justified in doing this? Absolutely. Can any lessons be learned from this? I would hope so.
I would hope the headmaster and governors take on board the lessons learned and complete the security measures they had talked about putting in place as far back as May last year.
One question was asked why didn’t we test the security at other Swindon schools? The reason was that it was pertinent to test Ridgeway since here was a school which had been the focus of not just one attack on Henry Webster in January 2007, but the previous summer term there had been a number of incidents at the school.
It was relevant because security was discussed; the building of a fence, the installation of security key pads. The fence was built, the key pads were never fitted.
We gave the school a week’s notice of our intention to publish the story. We gave them; the head teacher and governors, full opportunity to comment. We also gave them time to put in any extra security measures they considered fit before the resumption of term the week after next.
As for other Swindon schools’ security. Who knows? Maybe we will test their security at another time, but we will do so not in the hope of finding flaws, but more of seeing security which is in place which guarantees the safety of our children.
Many thanks for the positive comments in the wake of last week’s blog. While the negative comments are always in the minority, I feel it is only fair to address them. I would never expect consensus, I know our readers will take us to task if we get things wrong, however I do get annoyed with senseless, small-minded comments, which don’t serve to fuel debate.
On 4 April editor Dave King’s blog asked that comments from readers be “well thought out, constructive and illuminating”. Here’s one: Messrs Wallin and King might like to read “Ahead of the Class”, the inspiring story of how headmistress Marie Stubbs turned around St George’s school in Maida Vale after Philip Lawrence’s tragic murder outside the school. Marie (now Lady) Stubbs did not turn the school into a fortress, separate from its community. Indeed she saw it as essential to welcome the community into the school and so set up a rota where year 8 students took turns at a simple reception desk. She was certain that the experience of having extra responsibilities would help the students grow, and had confidence in them to make up for the lessons they missed on the rare occasions they were on reception.
The tone of James Wallin's article is set by its cheap headline. Perhaps Mr Wallin does not appreciate that every time the term “hammer attack school” is used it will make it that much harder for everyone at the school to put the past behind them and focus on their main task, to educate students.
The school and the newspaper are part of the same community. The school is a good school that has strong results and experienced one frightening incident over 12 months ago. A more helpful response from the community’s newspaper would be to support the school in its speedy recovery following the incident. A good start would be to drop the sensational “hammer attack” headlines immediately and use the school’s correct name: The Ridgeway School.
It sounds like James Wallin was welcomed into the Ridgeway School as a member of the community, despite him arriving unexpectedly at “the wrong” entrance. What a shame he did not reciprocate that same sense of community responsibility in his actions and his article. As a former chair of governors at a Swindon Secondary school, I’d like to challenge him to produce articles that both attract readers and that reflect reality rather than sensationalise it. All schools face difficulties and the staff and governors work hard to keep delivering education to the young people in our community. Lets get behind them.
Christine Hardisty
Old Town
On 4 April editor Dave King’s blog asked that comments from readers be “well thought out, constructive and illuminating”. Here’s one: Messrs Wallin and King might like to read “Ahead of the Class”, the inspiring story of how headmistress Marie Stubbs turned around St George’s school in Maida Vale after Philip Lawrence’s tragic murder outside the school. Marie (now Lady) Stubbs did not turn the school into a fortress, separate from its community. Indeed she saw it as essential to welcome the community into the school and so set up a rota where year 8 students took turns at a simple reception desk. She was certain that the experience of having extra responsibilities would help the students grow, and had confidence in them to make up for the lessons they missed on the rare occasions they were on reception.
The tone of James Wallin's article is set by its cheap headline. Perhaps Mr Wallin does not appreciate that every time the term “hammer attack school” is used it will make it that much harder for everyone at the school to put the past behind them and focus on their main task, to educate students.
The school and the newspaper are part of the same community. The school is a good school that has strong results and experienced one frightening incident over 12 months ago. A more helpful response from the community’s newspaper would be to support the school in its speedy recovery following the incident. A good start would be to drop the sensational “hammer attack” headlines immediately and use the school’s correct name: The Ridgeway School.
It sounds like James Wallin was welcomed into the Ridgeway School as a member of the community, despite him arriving unexpectedly at “the wrong” entrance. What a shame he did not reciprocate that same sense of community responsibility in his actions and his article. As a former chair of governors at a Swindon Secondary school, I’d like to challenge him to produce articles that both attract readers and that reflect reality rather than sensationalise it. All schools face difficulties and the staff and governors work hard to keep delivering education to the young people in our community. Lets get behind them.
Christine Hardisty
Old Town
