Video shows 15-year-old pupil assaulting a teacher in Welsh school playground; police investigate

Police are investigating after a video captured a 15-year-old pupil violently assaulting a male teacher in the playground of Ysgol Bae Baglan, an all-through school in Port Talbot, South Wales. The pupil, who had been excluded from classes, is seen attempting to scale a fence and was ordered down before the confrontation escalates. The teacher, wearing a yellow high-visibility vest, is shown in a struggle as the incident unfolds, with the pupil delivering a knee to the chest and pushing the teacher against a fence while other students watch.

The incident took place during a break on Monday. Police were called to the school, and the Neighbourhood Policing Team attended the campus on Tuesday. A youth engagement officer is due to visit on Thursday to work with students as part of an effort to address the underlying tensions that the footage has raised.

The school and local authority have acknowledged the event and said the matter is being dealt with under the school’s policies and procedures, with support offered to those involved. A spokesman for Neath Port Talbot Council said the incident is being handled through established channels and is being treated as a safeguarding matter for all pupils involved.

Ysgol Bae Baglan is an all-through school serving children aged three to 16 and currently enrolls about 1,500 pupils. In a recent inspection, Estyn described the school as a supportive and inclusive learning community where most pupils behave well and are polite to staff, peers and visitors. The council emphasized that the school’s response aligns with that assessment and that a range of supports is being provided to the pupil, the teacher and others affected by the incident.

Parents of senior-school pupils have been informed of the alleged assault and reassured that administrators are handling the matter in line with school policies. Teaching unions in Wales have highlighted concerns about violence and disruptive behavior in schools, noting previous high-profile incidents in other schools across the country.

The incident follows a separate, high-profile case earlier this year in Carmarthenshire, when a 14-year-old girl was found guilty of attempting to murder two teachers and a pupil in an attack at Ysgol Dyffryn Aman in Ammanford. She was sentenced to 15 years in prison. Investigators for Ysgol Bae Baglan have said there is no information at this stage about whether the two incidents are connected, and officials caution that the current case remains under investigation as more details are gathered.