Birley Academy: Sheffield school to hold lockdown drills 'every term' following horror attack by boy, 17
A Sheffield school will move its ‘lockdown drills’ from once a year to every term following a terrifying attack by a former pupil.
Louis Melotte, aged 17, was jailed for five years in August for the frightening assault on May 1 where he calmly entered Birley Academy, spoke to a receptionist, then repeatedly stabbed a 12-year-old girl with a piece of broken glass.
He was stopped by two brave members of staff - Molly Bulmer and Alicia Richards - who tackled him to the floor, with Ms Bulmer later telling a court she thought she would die in the act.
The attack triggered an enormous police response and saw the school placed in lockdown before pupils were sent home for the day.
The response included an in-school alarm and instructions by members of the senior leadership team for all pupils to stay in their classrooms.
Now, Birley Academy has shared how it is upping the number of ‘lockdown drills’ it holds from once a year to once a term going forward.
Headteacher Victoria Hall said: “The safety of our students and staff is our absolute top priority, and we have strict and robust procedures in place to ensure our students and staff are protected. “This was demonstrated by the expert and exceptionally professional way in which staff handled the incident. As per our procedures, as a priority all staff and students were seen by a member of Senior Leadership Team (SLT) as soon as the alarm sounded. The school moved extremely quickly to ensure all students remained in classrooms, which thanks to these swift actions, they did.”
Ms Hall also said assemblies are help to show students and staff safety protocols and lockdown procedures.
The school also said staff carry lanyards outlining safeguarding guidance and receive ‘refresher’ courses.
It comes after a Birley Academy mum, Caron Britton, previously claimed her Y7 son phoned her during the emergency lockdown at the school to say that he was terrified and did not know what was going on.
She said she also understands that a supply teacher had mistaken the alarm that was sounded for a fire alarm and was preparing to evacuate one classroom during the incident.
When asked if this was the case or had been investigated by the school, Birley Academy did not comment.
Earlier this year, a jury heard how Melotte, of Jaunty Avenue, shared a series of posts on social media on the day of the attack, including one which said: "Today is the day; a calling from the Lord Jesus Christ has been cast upon me.
"To do what God Almighty thinks is necessary."
The court heard how he smashed a glass at home before calmly walking the 20 minutes to his former school with the pieces hidden up his sleeve.
As he launched his attack, he was heard to say: "I'm going to kill everyone."
Judge Jeremy Richardson accepted in evidence that the defendant was autistic and had mental health problems, including suffering from psychosis at the time of the incident.
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