Colleague saved my life, says stabbed teacher

A teacher stabbed by a pupil in school said she "might not be standing here today" if it was not for her colleague's help.

Fiona Elias and Liz Hopkin, as well as a pupil, were hospitalised after the attack at Ysgol Dyffryn Aman, Carmarthenshire, last year.

A 14-year-old girl has been found guilty of attempted murder.

The girl, who cannot be named, denied three counts of attempted murder, but admitted the stabbings.

"Liz, the word thank you doesn't seem enough," Ms Elias said outside court.

She said she had been through a "nightmare" and that the verdict should be seen as a "clear message" for pupils.

The jury at Swansea Crown Court listened to a week of evidence and watched CCTV of the attack before reaching their verdict.

They heard the teenager had brought a weapon to school every day, and on the day in question used her father's multi-tool knife to initially attack Ms Elias.

The defendant is due to be sentenced on 28 April.

Student witnesses said the girl told them she would stab Ms Elias and "do something stupid" that would get her expelled.

The teenager shouted "I'm going to kill you" as she stabbed Ms Elias, the jury heard, before turning to Ms Hopkin, who she did not know.

Ms Hopkin and Ms Elias said in police interviews they thought they would die as they were stabbed.

After what was described as a "stand-off", the jury heard the girl then moved to another part of the school and ran towards a pupil with a knife and shouted, "I'm going to kill you".

The pupil was stabbed before the teenage girl was restrained by teacher Darrel Campbell, and she was later arrested.

The jury watched a police officer's bodycam footage in which the girl can be heard making comments about "being a celebrity" and having "more eyes on her" after the attack.

Drawings found in her notebooks were also shown to the panel, in which she referred to her teacher as "Mrs Frogface Elias", and the pupil she stabbed with words including "burning, drowning and death".

The court heard the girl had been bullied and would often self-harm at school and at home, since primary school.

She accepted she was "rude and irresponsible" towards Ms Elias, and the court heard the teacher had found a knife in her bag in September 2023, which resulted in a period of suspension.

The defendant told Swansea Crown Court she never intended to kill any of the three, or use the knife before that day.

She told the court: "I suppose I'm sorry."

After the stabbing the school erupted into chaos, going into lockdown in line with its emergency plans while police investigated.

Pupils said they would never forget the day of the attacks, with one saying she thought she was witnessing a "silly fight" before noticing a girl with a knife.

Outside court Ms Elias said the verdict was "for all teachers everywhere".

"No member of school staff should ever feel fearful for their own safety, merely for carrying out their own duties," she said.

She added that she wanted to meet the local authority and Welsh government to "ensure that no member of staff goes through what Liz [Hopkin] and I went through last year".

"Verbal and physical violence towards staff members is totally unacceptable, and we must ensure there is no repeat of this incident elsewhere.

"This verdict should be seen as a clear message for pupils across the country. I would not want any individual to go through the nightmare I have endured during the last nine months," she said, thanking friends and family and Ms Hopkin.

The National Education Union's Wales secretary, Nicola Fitzpatrick, said there was no place for violence in schools, and that there needed to be "a wider public health approach to tackling youth violence".

"Young people are growing up in very challenging times, the impact of Covid and cost of living crisis, alongside the readily available access to harmful and age-inappropriate content on social media and online forums are all taking their toll."

Dyfed Powys Police's Det Ch Supt Ross Evans said: "School should be a safe place, a sanctuary for the pupils that attend it, and weapons have no place within their grounds.

"We will not tolerate any attempt to compromise the safety of children or staff."

Michael Cray, of the Crown Prosecution Service, described it as a "terrifying incident" for the victims and those who witnessed it, acknowledging the "bravery of the staff and pupils" at the school.

Carmarthenshire council leader Darren Price said the incident "shocked and appalled the communities of Carmarthenshire and beyond".

"Violence, in any form, has unequivocally no place within our schools or any aspect of society."

The Welsh government said any form of "violence or abuse against staff in our schools is completely unacceptable", adding that "schools can take immediate and permanent action to expel any pupil in possession of a weapon".