Pupils at Wednesfield school stay in classrooms after male 'tried to access site' before police 'took him away'

Staff at Wednesfield Academy alerted the police after a male "known to the authorities" tried to make his way onto the premises at around 2pm on Monday.

Bosses at the Lichfield Road school made the decision to follow safety procedures and ask pupils to remain in their classrooms "as a precaution".

A letter sent to parents by headteacher, Mr Phillips, said police "arrived promptly" and dealt with the situation.

It continued: "Although some school property was damaged... because our procedure was followed as we had rehearsed it, all pupils and staff remained safe.

"Pupils behaved in an exemplary fashion. Parents who were on site were very helpful. Staff were calm and managed the situation as they had been trained to do so.

"Thank you for all of your support in trusting us to manage the situation."

Mr Phillips added that staff were "proud" of the behaviour of school goers and offered support for those who required it.

David Lowbridge-Ellis, director of school improvement at Matrix Academy Trust, which runs Wednesfield Academy, added that by the end of the school day it was "business as usual".

He said: "The police responded really quickly but before they arrived, we followed all of the precautions that we needed to.

"The great thing about Wednesfield Academy is the site is incredibly secure. He did cause damage to the door but obviously no damage to any human being – he didn't get near to coming inside the school building.

"We took the precaution of making sure no one was in the corridors and having students stay inside the classrooms while senior staff were sorting it out."

The Express & Star has contacted West Midlands Police for comment.