South Bank schools closed early on Friday as A66 crash funerals brought dozens of mourners into the area for Jakub Matusiak. Police said the funeral passed with very minimal traffic disruption, but several institutions still altered hours on their own risk assessments.
Tammy Cooper on South Bank Primary School
South Bank Primary School, St Peter's and Outwood Academy Normanby were among the schools that closed early. Archway Academy in Teesville closed at 11:45 BST, while St Margaret Clitherow's Catholic Primary School in South Bank shut at 12:15 and South Bank Library closed at 12:30 BST.
Tammy Cooper said South Bank Primary School planned to close early “to ensure the safety and wellbeing of our pupils.” She said large numbers of people were expected in the area and some pupils might feel “upset or anxious.”
Supt John Wrintmore and Police
Supt John Wrintmore said, “Today's events have passed without issue and with very minimal traffic disruption.” He added, “Our policing operation to ensure public safety will take the same approach next week when more funerals are taking place.”
He also said, “No schools, services or businesses have been instructed to close and any decision to do so have been made by individual organisations and their own risk assessments.” Redcar and Cleveland Council said the Mackenzie Thorpe Centre would be closed all day, and some SEND children who live in the South Bank area were collected earlier in the day.
Jakub Matusiak Funeral
Jakub Matusiak, 23, was one of five young men killed in the A66 crash on 22 August. The crash involved a Volkswagen Passat travelling the wrong way on the dual carriageway near South Bank and hitting a marked police car. PC Matthew Blades, 37, and PC Tom Clough, 38, were also killed.
Laura Trott urged Lucy Powell to ensure local schools remained open in an open letter. Powell said on Radio 4's Today programme that she trusted head teachers to make judgments that they needed to make to keep their school community safe.
The schools and services that chose early closure moved first, then police said the area had handled the funeral with minimal disruption. That leaves local families with a simple practical rule for the next round of funerals: expect the same policing approach, and expect each school or service to make its own decision.
