A ‘CARING’ teacher killed in the classroom in front of horrified pupils died of “multiple stab wounds”, it has emerged.
Pupils leave Corpus Christi Catholic College where teacher Anne Maguire was stabbed[PA]The 61-year-old Spanish teacher was delivering a lesson at Corpus Christi Catholic College in Leeds, where she had taught for 40 years.
A boy left his desk and thrust a knife repeatedly into her back.
The screams of pupils alerted other teachers who raced to the classroom and wrestled the attacker to the ground.
Today a post mortem revealed she died from “multiple stab wounds”. Mrs Maguire is believed to be the first teacher to have been killed in a British classroom.
A 15-year-old pupil is due to be quizzed today by detectives over the killing of the married mother of two.
Corpus Christi headteacher Steve Moat and the head girl and boy of the school laid flowers [GETTY]I don't know anyone who didn't like her. She was spot on. You couldn't ask for a better teacher
Detective Superintendent Simon Beldon from West Yorkshire Police said: "A post mortem examination has taken place and has shown she died of multiple stab wounds.
"Pupils who witnessed this incident are still being interviewed by specialist officers who are very experienced in dealing with child witnesses.
"They will ensure that their welfare is paramount.
"A scene does remain in place within the school but is no longer actively under examination.
"This is clearly an unprecedented and tragic incident which has left the school and the wider community in a state of shock."
The victim was named locally as 61-year-old Anne Maguire [ROSSPARRY.CO.UK]Her devastated husband Donald, 62, and their daughters Kerry, 32, and Emma, 31, were being comforted by police liaison officers at the smart semi-detached family home in north Leeds.
The elder girl is a former ballet dancer who now works as a trainee osteopath in York while her younger sister is one of Britain’s top dancers, performing for the Royal Ballet in London.
Her husband is a former teacher who now runs his own landscape gardening business.
Her youngest daughter Emma entered the Royal Ballet School at the age of 11 and was promoted to soloist in 2011.
With the Royal Ballet she has performed in productions of The Nutcracker, Cinderella, Tales of Beatrix Potter and The Sleeping Beauty.
Mrs Maguire had taught at the school for 40 years and writing on the website RateMyTeachers.com, one former pupil said: “She’s like the school’s own mother! Can be very strict but if you’re nice to her she will always be there for you, a great woman!”
Emma Maguire, the youngest daughter of stabbed teacher Anne, in a production on stage [ELLIOTT FRANKS]She added: "It was like no one could believe it had actually happened."
Her mother Paula said: "Everyone's still just so shocked. Mrs Maguire was one of the best teachers. I really feel for her family."
The leader of Catholics in England and Wales has spoken of his "utter shock and sadness" over the fatal stabbing of teacher Ann Maguire.
Cardinal Vincent Nichols, Archbishop of Westminster, who was made a Cardinal earlier this year by Pope Francis, said his heart went out to the family of Mrs Maguire.
The much-loved teacher had worked at Corpus Christi Catholic College in Leeds for 40 years and had been due to retire in September.
"Today I express my utter shock and sadness at the tragic killing of Mrs Ann Maguire at Corpus Christi College," Cardinal Nichols said in a statement posted on the Diocese of Westminster website.
"My heart goes out to her husband and daughters, to their wider family, to everyone at Corpus Christi Catholic College and to the parishes connected to the College.
"I want to assure them of my prayers, and those of the entire Diocese of Westminster at this time. May the Lord comfort the bereaved, consoling them with his unshakeable promise of eternal life."
Flowers are left outside Corpus Christi Catholic College after the death of Anne Maguire [PA]The Director of Children's Services also said it was the right decision to keep the school open today - just a day after the stabbing.
He said: "Corpus Christi Catholic College is a wonderfully strong and caring school.
"The sense of community is tangible and very apparent as you enter the building which is clear evidence it was the right decision to keep it open.
"The whole community has come together to support one another."
Martin Dowling, Chair of Governors for the school, described Mrs Magure as a "wonderful and dedicated teacher" who will be remembered "fondly."
He added that Mrs Maguire had taught at the school for four decades and had taught some of the parents of the current pupils.
He said: "Ann was a wonderful and dedicated teacher and will be remembered fondly by all of us.
"She has taught at Corpus Christi for 40 years and had touched the lives of many people in the local community having taught the parents of some of our current pupils.
"I would like to pay tribute to the staff and students for the way they have coped with this tragic event.
"Our school mission statement states that we work, learn, pray and grow together. At this difficult time we also grieve and support together."
Tributes poured in on social networking sites after the death of Anne Maguire [MERCURY]The press conference came after a church service was held this morning to remember Mrs Maguire which was attended by around 150 people.
Last night, hundreds of pupils, former students and their parents also crammed into the pews of the Corpus Christi church.
Many of the popular teacher's pupils were among the congregation and many were in tears as Monsignor Paul Fisher began the mass.
He told them: "Yesterday evening, the community gathered here in church as well as outside to light candles and to say a prayer.
"Some people struggled to know what to pray for.
"By the time the church was closed, the candelabras were full of light.
"Today we pray for the light of hope. Hope for ourselves that we will come to terms, eventually, with what has happened.
"We pray for all those young people at our school next door and their teachers. We pray for Anne's family and friends. We pray for Anne.
"We offer prayers too for the family of the man who, unfortunately, did what he did.
"We pray for ourselves."
An aerial view of Corpus Christi Catholic College in Leeds where a teacher was stabbed today [SWNS]Some teenagers pinned photographs to the railings, with teddies and other memorabilia. One message read: “To a special teacher. I will never forget you.”
A note said: “You inspired countless generations. You taught four generations of our family and you were simply a totally fantastic teacher, always caring and always there to make us smile (even if you were speaking Spanish).”
Laying flowers at the school gates, a 17-year-old girl, said: “It’s more like losing a family member than losing a teacher.
“As long as we were happy, she was happy. She would do anything for you. She helped me personally a lot. She’s going to be such a loss to the school. Hers were one of those lessons you didn’t want to miss. She was just lovely. She was wonderful. I am devastated.”
The Prime Minister joined pupils in paying tribute. David Cameron said: “My thoughts are with the family of Ann Maguire, as well as the staff and pupils of Corpus Christi school.”
One pupil, 17, said of Mrs Maguire: “She was just lovely. She was helpful and caring and you could have a laugh with her.
“She was always there for you, even if she didn’t know you very well. No one had a bad word for her – I mean no one.”
Former pupil Peter Masefield, 18, said: “I just can’t understand why her. Of all people. She was the school’s figurehead.” Teaching unions described the incident as “awful” and “appalling”.
The school was judged as "good" in its Ofsted report earlier this year and has nearly 1,000 pupils [EXPRESS]Corpus Christi’s last Ofsted report demanded that improvements needed to be made as recent results at GCSE displayed “a lack of consistency” with attainment by significantly below average. However, the report, from October last year, went on to claim that attainment in Spanish – which Mrs Maguire - taught was “significantly above average”.
Hilary Benn, Labour MP for Leeds Central, described the incident as “profoundly saddening” but said he was not in favour of stringent security measures that would keep pupils “behind high fences”.
He added: “This is not representative of the college, of the community that surrounds it, the families that send their children to school and the city itself.”
Education Secretary Michael Gove said: “This is an appalling tragedy. My deepest thoughts go to the victim’s family, her colleagues and the pupils at Corpus Christi Catholic College.”
Horrified neighbours of the 15-year-old boy being quizzed over the killing of his teacher last night told the Daily Express he was "a loner and strange".
His Facebook profile picture is an image of the Grim Reaper and he cannot be named because of his age.
The long-haired heavy metal fan was described by one fellow pupil as being “a real loner despite being really, really clever”.
Residents on the quiet cul-desac in Leeds where he lives painted a picture of a shy, troubled boy.
The brooding, dark-haired teenager is described as an "Emo" - a fan of alternative music, often with tortured lyrics.
He is said to have few friends, and to have refused to talk or even make eye contact with neighbours. He is a devotee of thrash metal band Bring Me The Horizon, noted for their "deathcore style".
One of the band's albums features a masked man holding a knife on the cover.
He shares his home with his quiet 19-year-old brother and his respected mother aged 47 who works in the rail industry.
They have lived in the three-bedroom semi for 12 years.
His father, a 50-year-old council worker, lives six miles away with a son from a new relationship. One neighbour of the boy and his mother said: "He was a loner and strange. He walked with his head down all the time so you couldn't see his face.
"He never smiled, he never looked at you but I thought he was harmless."
Rebecca Hardy, 21, said: "If you said hello he wouldn't say hello back.
"I used to think he was a bit weird. But he had a girlfriend who used to walk up the close. I don't think he had many other friends "He would never look at anybody and would walk face down to the ground."
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