Harrogate school's exams go ahead despite travellers camp on sports field as school reassures parents

A spokesperson for Ashville College said GCSE and A level examinations were running as usual in the Sports Centre and that sports lessons and after-school clubs and activities have also been going ahead uninterrupted.

But precautions were being taken in liaison with the police.

"As a precautionary measure, there is a fence running the width of the site to separate the school from the travellers,” said Ashville College.

"They have been instructed by the police, who are carrying out regular patrols, not to go near school buildings or any pupils.

"Thanks to the hard work and vigilance of all our teaching and support staff, the school is fully operational, although there have been some minor adjustments for our youngest pupils in Acorns Pre-Prep and Reception.

"We have also postponed home sports fixtures.”

Ashville College said it was first alerted that a group of traveller families had forced their way onto our sports field off Yew Tree Lane at 9pm last Friday, June 9.

Police then attended the scene to work closely with the school with the intention of removing the travellers and their vehicles as soon as possible.

The school said all parents were contacted on Friday evening and it would continue to update them as it monitored the situation.

In a media statement, Ashville College said: “Our priority is to ensure the safety of our pupils and to minimise disruption to normal school life.

"GCSE and A level examinations are running as usual in the Sports Centre.

"We are grateful to our families for their understanding and praise our staff for making every reasonable effort to prevent the break-in.

"The continued vigilance of our staff and supervision of pupils on-site is of paramount importance.

"We are providing regular updates to students’ families until the situation is resolved and thank them for their continued support and understanding.”