Some Birmingham schools close early today ahead of 'high risk' Aston Villa vs Maccabi Tel Aviv match
Birmingham schools are closing early today for the high-risk Aston Villa vs Maccabi Tel Aviv match, with heightened security and police presence expected in Aston today
Some Birmingham schools are set to close early today ahead of the ‘high-risk’ Aston Villa vs Maccabi Tel Aviv game scheduled to take place tonight at 8pm (November 6).
The much-anticipated game has been categorised by West Midlands Police as ‘high risk’ based on an assessment based on past incidents.
In the local area, schools have taken measures to protect their students.
Aston University Engineering Academy (AUEA) is one local secondary school and sixth form set to close earlier than usual today.
The school told families that sixth form students will be dismissed at 12.10 PM, while lower school students will be dismissed at 1.05 PM.
In a letter sent to parents, the school wrote:
“The safety of our students and staff remains our highest priority. We strongly encourage all students to make their way home promptly after dismissal, as road closures will begin from 2:00 PM. Please be aware that our location is expected to be a gathering point for match attendees/crowds.”
City centre based school, BOA Creative, Digital and Performing Arts Academy will also close early today at 1.15pm.
Similarly, local primary schools in the area such as Mansfield Green E-ACT Primary Academy is also set to close early at 1.15pm.
The game is considered to be of high-risk with 700 police officers expected to be on duty for the game fixture.
Many protests are expected to take place in Aston ahead of the tense football game.