A math teacher who was stabbed by a student in a school hallway has vowed to return to class within weeks.
Jamie Sansom, 27, said he hoped to make a full recovery after the attack on Tewkesbury Academy in Gloucestershire on Monday.
Mr Sansom, who has worked at the school since 2017, was attacked just after 9 a.m. and rushed to hospital with a single stab wound.
The academy was locked down while two other local schools were told to keep their doors closed while police searched the school grounds for the suspect.
The boy suspected of stabbing left the school building after the incident and was found two hours later in the village of Stoke Orchard, around four miles away.
He is currently being held on suspicion of attempted murder and Mr Sansom was discharged from hospital on Monday evening.
As the school reopened with a small police presence on Tuesday, Mr Sansom, from Newport, Wales, said he could not comment in detail due to the police investigation, but wanted to clarify that no other student was involved.
“It is simply not true to say that I was intervening in a fight between students. In my view, there has never been a time when Tewkesbury students have been directly threatened.
He thanked police and hospital staff for taking care of him and said he was heartened by the messages of support.
“I’m happy to say I’m recovering well. I was well looked after at Gloucester Royal, and by the police, and I’m grateful for that. My thanks to everyone who helped get me on my way of what should be a full recovery.
“I received over a hundred messages of support, which was a big boost. It was hugely uplifting to know I had this support behind me, and I want to thank all of my colleagues and the parents at Tewkesbury Academy who took the time to reach out. It meant a lot.
Mr Sansom added that he wanted to visit the school to thank pupils and staff for their support and hoped to be back at work within weeks.
“I hope to be well enough soon to visit the school and thank people in person. And if the doctors give me the green light, I hope to be back in class before summer vacation. I have to move to a new school at the end of the year, and it would mean a lot to me to have the opportunity to say goodbye before leaving.
A spokesperson for Tewkesbury Academy said it wanted to reopen as soon as possible to give pupils “a sense of normalcy”.
“We believe it is important that our students can return to a sense of normalcy at their school, where we will provide a range of additional mental and emotional support to students and staff.”
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