Newbury language academy join one-minute silence for Charlie Hebdo victims

Headteacher of Vici Language Academy Nathalie Danon-Kerr (pictured) who is originally from Besancon in eastern France asked her students to observe the one minute of reflection at 11am this morning to coincide with the silence to be observed in France at midday.
Thames Valley Police also held a two-minute silence at 10:30am, and the National Union of Journalists at 11am.
The headteacher said of the attacks: “I am French and it has affected me quite a lot.
“Clearly I am very sad and shocked but for me the reason why it is so terrible is that the paper was really a part of the French culture and reflected our political views.
“Everybody loved that paper and it was an attack on both my country and our values. The freedom of the press is very important in France.”
The language academy which was opened by Nathalie in 2008 has around 200 students and many of them are French.
Speaking of the reaction from her students she said: “I was quite surprised. I have had quite a few e-mails of support this morning, and people have been wonderfully supportive of Charlie Hebdo.”
The attack has received widespread international condemnation and a Twitter hashtag #JeSuisCharlie pledging support for the magazine has already been used thousands of times.
Newbury MP Richard Benyon yesterday described the attacks as a “disgusting and disgraceful act.” See http://www.newburytoday.co.uk/2015/newbury-mp-richard-benyon-condemns-disgusting-and-disgraceful-paris-shootings for more from Richard Benyon.
A police manhunt for the gunmen has seen several arrests already being made in France but the search for the killers is still ongoing.