A school welfare officer was “thrown about by the force and ferocity of the attack upon her” when she was stabbed in the face and chest by a 16-year-old “ideal pupil”, a judge has heard.

Joy Simon, 61, was seriously injured by the teenager in the attack in her office at Winterton Community Academy, near Scunthorpe, in September last year, Hull Crown Court heard.

The girl came “flying” into Ms Simon’s office, and the inclusion support officer, whose job it is to help students with problems, initially thought she was about to be hugged.

Richard Wright QC, prosecuting, said: “She at first thought that (the girl) was going to hug her but then felt a thud to her chest and realised that she had been injured or possibly stabbed.

“As Joy Simon stood to her feet in an effort to defend herself, (the girl) used the knife that she possessed to stab Ms Simon in the face and then tried to rain further blows down upon her with the knife.”

Mr Wright said Ms Simon grabbed the girl’s wrist but “the blows kept coming and Joy Simon was thrown about by the force and ferocity of the attack upon her”.

The prosecutor said Ms Simon began screaming for help but, as she tried to get out of the door, the girl repeatedly slammed it shut.

He told Judge Jeremy Richardson QC: “The attack only ended because of the bravery of other members of staff who intervened. Principal amongst them was a cleaner and lunchtime supervisor, Kerry Ogg.

“Ms Ogg heard the screams for help and ran into the room and forcibly separated (the girl) from Joy Simon, thereby preventing her from continuing her attack.”

Mr Wright said Ms Ogg was then helped by teacher Mark Florence, who restrained the girl.

The court heard that Ms Simon’s injuries were initially thought to be life-threatening. One knife wound went into her lung. She also suffered a gash across her cheek which went through to her mouth and which has still not healed, leaving her scarred.

Mr Wright said the girl had a “stable home life and there does not appear to be any indication that her behaviour at home was ever violent or disruptive”.

Attacker ‘described as an ideal pupil’

He said: “She was described as an ideal pupil in that she was bright and able, was in many top sets, was expected to achieve excellent exam results and was never in trouble or in need of disciplinary intervention.”

The girl, who cannot be named for legal reasons, admitted, at a previous hearing, wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm and possession of a bladed article. A charge of attempted murder was dropped.

She was due to be sentenced today but Judge Richardson postponed sentencing for a week after the teenager’s QC did not make the hearing in Hull because of an error.

Mr Wright said that some of the girl’s friends had spoken to Ms Simon about the pupil’s wellbeing, especially relating to self-harming. But, he said, the girl had never sought Ms Simon’s help.

The prosecutor said the girl was continuing to self-harm at the time of the attack.

He said the attack was clearly planned as she had brought the 3in (7.6cm) knife from home and deleted all her social media and text messages.

At a previous hearing, when the girl first appeared before magistrates, the court was told that worrying notes were found in her bedroom.

According to the prosecutor on that occasion, one note said she would “go out with a bang in Year 11” and another said: “I’m not scared about giving up any more. It’s already happened. Giving up is an opportunity and now I will take it. Take. Take. Take.”

Mr Wright said witnesses to the attack “describe her as showing no emotion of any sort” and reported that she said nothing.

One pupil saw Ms Simon open the door to her office at least three or four times “only for the defendant to force it closed each time”.

Psychiatrists said that the girl had no contact with mental health services but had a long history of a depressive illness.

Mr Wright said that the girl had started to think about the attack on the “popular and well-regarded member of staff” the day before.

He said: “She wanted to hurt her because Ms Simon was supposed to help people who had problems but had done nothing to help (the girl) with her own problems.”

She told a psychiatrist that she was annoyed that Ms Simon had joked to her about nearly falling in some water when she had previously told a friend she was thinking of jumping off a bridge.

Mr Wright said the girl decided to use a knife “to make sure it would hurt”.

In court, the girl sat in the glass-fronted dock with a woman security officer. She bowed her head for most of the hearing.

Her parents watched proceedings from the public gallery, and Ms Simon, who had worked at the school for more than 24 years, was also in court.

In a victim impact statement read to the court, Ms Simon, whose husband died three years ago, said the “trauma and shock” of what happened to her has changed her life “forever”. She said she wanted to know why she was attacked.

“I just want the truth,” she said, adding: “I want her not only to accept responsibility but accept the necessary consequences of her actions.”

Judge Richardson apologised to Ms Simon that the case could not be concluded today. He also addressed the girl’s parents, saying that they were “ordinary, decent people”.

The judge added: “I cannot begin to contemplate how they must feel today. It’s devastating for them as well.”

He told the teenager that she will receive a “sentence of some substance”.

Judge Richardson asked her if she understood and she nodded.

The girl is due to be sentenced on 2 February.

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