Missing schoolboy gets help from London security
On Thursday, 17 pupils and three adults from Bishop Murphy National School in Fermoy went on a one-day trip to visit the London Eye and other attractions.
According to the school, as they were leaving the Eye, all the children were checked and counted and were declared present. It was after that point that the pupil became detached from the group accidentally.
The rest then went on to a shopping centre and it was there that it was discovered the schoolboy was missing.
For the next hour, the adults searched throughout the shopping centre, unaware that the little boy was not there.
In the interim, he had gone to a security guard at a shop in the original location and told him he was lost.
The guard contacted London police and contact was made with the group.
“At all times the supervisors acted with due concern for the safety and well-being of all the pupils in the group,” said the school.
The teachers asked the police to bring him to the shopping centre so they could be reunited before travelling to the airport.
However, the police said they would bring the child directly to the airport to meet up with the group.
By the time everyone reached the airport, their flight to Cork had gone and the next service to Shannon was too full.
The group, therefore had to spend the night in the airport and travelled to Cork yesterday morning.
The school said the boy had acted as he was taught by approaching the security guard.
“There will be a full report to the board of management and any lessons learnt from this will be taken on board,” the school spokesperson said. “Our main concern was that the child was safe.”
She said once the boy and his peers knew that he was safe, they had found the whole experience exciting.
