Seven children hurt after car collides with girls’ prep school building

The driver stopped at the scene of the crash at The Study Preparatory School in Camp Road, and no arrests have yet been made, police said.
A Land Rover Defender is seen inside the grounds of The Study Preparatory School in Camp Road, Wimbledon (Victoria Jones/PA)
PA Wire
Scott d'Arcy6 July 2023

Seven children and two adults have been hurt after a Land Rover crashed into a building at a girls’ prep school on the last day of term.

The driver stopped at the scene of the crash at The Study Preparatory School in Camp Road, in Wimbledon, southwest London, and no arrests have yet been made, the Metropolitan Police said.

The incident, which saw officers, firefighters and paramedics, including London’s Air Ambulance, respond at around 9.54am on Thursday, is not being treated as terror-related.

Wimbledon MP Stephen Hammond told the the PA news agency several of those hurt were “critically injured”.

He said: “Since being declared by the local police a major incident, you’ve seen that we’ve had fire, air ambulance, ambulance and police on the scene.

“There are a number of people who are critically injured as I understand it and given the scale of the response from emergency services… this is a very serious incident.”

He added The Study Prep is a “very well-known and family-based school”.

The Conservative MP said where the school is located “generally will be regarded as an area where you wouldn’t see very much speeding”.

The school, which costs £5,565 per term, is for girls aged four to 11 and sits on Wimbledon Common, just a mile away from the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club as it hosts the world-famous tennis tournament.

Mr Hammond said the Camp Road site of the school caters for younger children between the ages of four and eight.

Police extended a large cordon around the school and television pictures from overhead showed the car up against the wall of the building, while firefighters and paramedics stood near a gap in the fencing at the entrance to the site.

Police officers moved dog walkers and passers-by away from the scene as an air ambulance remained on the edge of the Common while a number of ambulances parked nearby.

Wimbledon resident Julie Atwood told the PA news agency: “My daughter used to go to this school. It’s a girls’ school.

“Wimbledon is like a little village. For this to happen in Wimbledon is unheard of. It’s terrible.”

The Metropolitan Police said: “Officers remain at the scene of a serious collision at a primary school in Wimbledon.

“Police were called at 9.54am on Thursday, 6 July to reports that a car collided with a building at the school in Camp Road.

“Officers attended, along with paramedics from the London Ambulance Service and London’s Air Ambulance.

“At this time nine people are reported injured, these include two adults and seven children. We await further updates on their conditions.

“The driver of the vehicle stopped at the scene. There have been no arrests.”

London Fire Brigade said on Twitter: “We are currently supporting emergency services at an incident at a school in Wimbledon.

“We have two fire engines and two fire rescue units at the scene.”

A woman who answered the phone at the school replied “no comment” when contacted by the PA news agency.

Tweets from Wimbledon and Putney Commons urged the public to stay away from the area.

They said: “Following an incident at the edge of the Common on Camp Road, the public are asked to avoid that area of the Commons to allow free access to the emergency services. Thank you.

“Emergency vehicles are likely to be using the Commons to get to the location so please be alert to what is happening and follow instructions from our staff. Thank you.”

Home Secretary Suella Braverman said she was “saddened” by the incident, adding in a tweet: “My thoughts are with everyone affected. I would like to thank emergency responders at the scene. It is important they are now able to carry out their investigation.”

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