The teachers stabbed during a horror attack at a South Wales school have broken their silence in an emotional statement.
Dyfed-Powys Police has identified two of the victims of an attack at Ysgol Dyffryn Aman on Wednesday as Fiona Elias and Liz Hopkin, the school’s assistant headteacher and additional learning needs coordinator.
They were two of three people stabbed by an unnamed teenage girl – who has since been arrested and charged with three counts of attempted murder – on April 27, with the third victim being a pupil at the school in Ammanford.
The teachers were whisked to hospital with non-life-threatening stab wounds following the incident and discharged the following day.
In a statement released this evening, they thanked emergency services and staff and praised pupils caught up in the incident for their “resilience”.
Ms Elias was full of praise for the Ysgol Dyffryn Aman community and said everyone would work “to support each other in the coming days and weeks”.
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 for their excellent care and quick response.
“Many thanks also to the Air Ambulance for their excellent care of my colleague, Liz. This is another example of how vital this service is to us in Wales.
“Three of us were taken to hospital with injuries, but this incident has had an enormous impact on my colleagues and the wonderful pupils we have at Ysgol Dyffryn Aman.
“I cannot comprehend what staff and pupils experienced on Wednesday. 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.
“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 community, and we will be working to support each other in the coming days and weeks.
“Many thanks to the parents of the school for their cooperation and understanding at such a difficult time and of course to the wider community and external agencies who have been so willing to support the staff and pupils.
“I understand that there has been great interest in this incident, but for the benefit of my family, colleagues, and pupils, I now ask for privacy.”
In her statement, Ms Hopkin also took the opportunity to thank the school community and said it is “time to reflect” on the incident.
She said: “I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone for the support shown to me and my family since the incident on Wednesday.
“I am deeply indebted to all the emergency services for their quick response and for the care provided to me and others who were admitted to hospital.
“Ysgol Dyffryn Aman is a big part of my life, and it is hard to comprehend that this has happened.
“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 and therefore ask for privacy for the school, myself and my family, so we can take this time to reflect and recover.”
