Streatley school turns makeshift hospital

Streatley Primary School stepped in to help when a coach carrying Croatian teenagers crashed nearby

STREATLEY Primary School became a makeshift hospital for 20 Croatian teenagers who were injured when the coach they were travelling in collided with a lorry.

Headteacher Chris Prickett said the school was “more than happy to help out” following the incident which occurred on A417 near the Oxfordshire border between Streatley and Blewbury on Tuesday morning at around 8.40am.

The 36 Croatian school pupils, from Isusvacka Klasicna Gimnazija school in the Croatian city of Osije, were on a day trip from Reading to Oxford at the time.

Mr Prickett said: “We had a room that was plenty big enough, where we had been holding our play rehearsals. they were slightly shaken more than anything with bits of glass all over them. We gave them tea and sandwiches and calmed them down.

“There were no issues with the language barrier, one or two English speakers helped translate and we had a French teacher confident in languages who also helped out. The children were no trouble at all, and the police were very helpful too making sure the pupils had freedom to calm down.”

The 43-year-old Croatian driver of the coach was charged with one count of driving without due care and attention, and released on bail to attend Newbury Magistrates' Court today (Thursday).