Ayaan’s in Astley Bridge is no stranger to awards, winning best in Bolton at the Asian Restaurant Awards back in September.

Owners were again honoured at the Fourth Nation’s Curry Awards in 2026, being crowned the Pakistani Restaurant of the Year.

Ayaan’s at the Asian Restaurant Awards (Image: Mohammed Jabir)

Mohammed Jabir started the restaurant in 2021 with his business partner, Ihsan Ullah, and since then has gone from strength to strength.

Mohammed said: “It’s a great honour to receive this award and we believe that we hold this title because we’re the best in Bolton.”

The pair have even taken their success beyond the borough – opening a second branch in Bradford.

Mohammed said: “After the success of this restaurant, we have gone further and opened a second branch in Bradford with space for over 100 diners.

“For the month of Ramadan we will also be offering a 15 per cent discount on all of our dishes for our loyal customers.

“May we long continue to keep receiving such awards.”

The platters on offer (Image: Mohammed Jabir)

Presented by Oceanic Awards, the Nation’s Curry Awards recognise and celebrate the talents and hard work of individuals and businesses within the UK’s curry industry.

The awards celebrate the country’s rich and diverse curry culture and encourage the continued growth and evolution of the industry.

The winners were announced at an elegant ceremony which took place a the Cedar Court Huddersfield Hotel in Huddersfield.

Inside the eatery (Image: Mohammed Jabir)

Yasmin Mahmood, CEO of Oceanic Awards said: “We’re proud to once again celebrate the finest in the UK’s curry scene, recognising the creativity, innovation, and exceptional service that have become synonymous with this beloved cuisine.

“The UK’s curry industry is a vital part of our culture, and these awards recognised the exceptional talents of the individuals and businesses that make it so special.

“We’d like to congratulate all of our winners on their incredible accomplishments.”

GameCentral recaps the current state of PlayStation, following its last showcase, with every newly announced and rumoured PS5 game in the works.

Sony is in a weird place at the moment. Its big live service game ambitions have clearly fallen apart, with multiple cancelled projects resulting in too few exclusives for the PlayStation 5 over the last six years. And yet the console has been selling very well, thanks in part to Xbox no longer offering any real competition.

We also appear to be witnessing something of a resurgence for the PlayStation brand, since there are two traditional single-player exclusives launching this year and the latest State of Play announced a handful more exclsuvies. One of them even released right after the showcase.

That said, most of the showcase was dominated by third party releases, with even exclusives like Kena: Scars Of Kosmora and Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls coming from other studios. A lot of Sony’s own developers, meanwhile, had nothing to show for themselves.

If you’ve fallen behind on Sony’s future PlayStation 5 plans, we’ve run through all of the internal PlayStation studios to recap what exactly they’re making, what they’re rumoured to be making, and/or if there’s any info about their next games at all.

Bend Studio

Days Gone developer Bend Studio was previously working on one of Sony’s live service game projects, but it was cancelled before anything was shown. As such, the studio has gone the entire PlayStation 5’s lifecycle so far without releasing anything new (not counting the Days Gone remaster).

The studio was also beset by layoffs last June, with an X post only saying it was moving on to its ‘next project.’ What that project is remains a mystery and is likely very, very early in development.

A now deleted job listing for a new creative director (via MP1st) mentioned that candidates would ideally have ‘experience with multiplayer game development and design,’ so Sony may have moved it onto a different live service project. At the very least, don’t expect a traditional Days Gone sequel.

Bluepoint Games

Just like Bend, Bluepoint Games was working on a live service game (specifically a God Of War one), but it was canned last year. Unlike Bend, though, it at least got a Demon’s Souls remake out as a PlayStation 5 launch title, but that’s been it so far.

Bluepoint previously said its next game would be entirely original and not another remake or remaster (which is what it’s best known for), but that was in 2021 and those plans may very well have changed.

A job listing from last October did give away that Bluepoint is working on some kind of third person action game and given Sony seems to be walking back its live service ambitions, it’ll hopefully be a traditional single-player experience.

Bungie

Bungie isn’t officially part of PlayStation Studios, with Sony assuring its staff that it would retain independence following the acquisition, but it may as well be considering all the layoffs and Sony’s tightening grip.

Just last November, Sony admitted it spent far too much on buying Bungie and has yet to reap any real benefits from it. This is one of the big reasons why the studio is hyping up its Marathon live service extraction shooter, which launches as a multiplatform title on March 5. Bungie needs something to justify its continued existence under Sony.

It is rumoured some early work is being done on Destiny 3, but if Marathon underperforms, we fear that could be the final nail in Bungie’s coffin. The game isn’t free-to-play, but Bungie is running a free preview session from February 26 and all through that following weekend, which aims to generate early interest in the game.

Dark Outlaw Games

In 2021, Call Of Duty veterans Dave Anthony and Jason Blundell founded Deviation Games and, though not part of PlayStation Studios, partnered with Sony on a new PlayStation exclusive triple-A game.

The studio shuttered in 2024 without even properly announcing its project, but Blundell has since officially joined Sony to lead the newly formed Dark Outlaw Games.

It too is working on a wholly original triple-A game, but hopefully history doesn’t keep repeating itself and Dark Outlaw actually manages to release a game.

Firesprite

Firesprite was seemingly bought by Sony for its VR experience, but given how rapidly Sony’s interest in VR gaming has dwindled since then, you have to assume the studio doesn’t have a new VR project in the works after Horizon Call Of The Mountain.

The rumoured Twisted Metal reboot has long been cancelled (even with the TV show proving successful), but it sounds like Firesprite is still working on the new story driven horror game mentioned in job listings from 2022.

You have to assume this is the same project as the ‘dark, story-driven next generation narrative adventure’ mentioned in a now deleted job listing last year (via PlayStation Universe). ‘Next generation,’ though, implies this is aiming for a PlayStation 6 release and that console faces a potential delay to 2029.

Guerrilla Games

Guerrilla Games is one of the few PlayStation studios to have tangible plans, although it’s currently prioritising yet another live service multiplayer game, in Horizon Hunters Gathering.

Whether this one will have any staying power remains to be seen, but the studio has assured fans that it’ll still work on single-player games too. In fact, a third Horizon game was basically confirmed in 2023 and is likely already in active development.

Unfortunately, most of the team is reportedly working on Hunters Gathering, so progress must be going slow. So, even with a potential console delay, Horizon 3 will probably be pushed back to become a PlayStation 6 title.

Haven Studios

Even with Sony running back a lot of its live service plans, Haven Studios is still trucking along with its multiplayer shooter Fairgame$. It’s easy to be sceptical about it, though, when it’s seen no real updates since its 2023 teaser reveal, which didn’t even feature any gameplay.

Early impressions were reportedly positive, but the same was said for Highguard and look how that ultimately turned out. Also, six months ago, Haven lost game director Daniel Drapeau to Warner Bros. Montréal, which hardly bodes well for Fairgame$.

Last we heard, the game was pushed into 2026 but if it was due this year, you’d think Sony would have mentioned it during the last State of Play. Instead, Sony’s main live service project for the year is the aforementioned Marathon reboot, so perhaps Fairgame$ has been hit with another delay or even cancellation.

Housemarque

It’s been nearly five years since Returnal and in that time, Housemarque has been working on a spiritual successor in Saros, easily our most anticipated PlayStation 5 game of the year.

Thankfully, Housemarque hasn’t been waylaid by Sony’s live service plans and was able to focus all its energy on Saros, which remains a single-player roguelike blending third person shooting and bullet hell action.

It launches on April 30 and although there’s no sign of a PC release, we imagine one will follow eventually.

Insomniac Games

While Insomniac’s Wolverine game was announced all the way back in 2021, the studio has managed to maintain a consistent release schedule, since Wolverine will arrive only three years after Spider-Man 2. That makes it Insomniac’s fourth PlayStation 5 title after Spider-Man: Miles Morales (and the remaster of the original) and 2021’s Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart.

You can expect more updates on Wolverine this year, although the real question is whether it will still meet its autumn release window when GTA 6 is coming out around the same time. Don’t be surprised if Sony winds up pushing it back.

A lot of Insomniac’s post-Wolverine plans leaked thanks to the 2023 hacking incident, which mentioned multiple Marvel games and another Ratchet & Clank. Plans have no doubt changed as a result, although the studio remains committed to further Marvel collaborations.

Spider-Man 3 is obviously one of them, but whether those leaked Venom and X-Men games are still planned is anyone’s guess.

Media Molecule

Game creation tool Dreams remains active, but active support ended in 2023, with Media Molecule saying it had moved onto a new project, without ever porting Dreams to the PlayStation 5.

This means the studio hasn’t released anything for current hardware and unfortunately, there remains no updates or even rumours on what its next project could be.

It’s unlikely the studio will return to LittleBigPlanet, considering the series hasn’t had a proper sequel since 2014’s LittleBigPlanet 3 and has only continued through spin-offs like Sackboy: A Big Adventure. None of which Media Molecule was involved with.

The safest assumption, based on its previous work, is that anything Media Molecule releases next will involve player-generated content of some kind, but who knows what Sony’s intentions with the studio are nowadays.

Naughty Dog

After what felt like endless Last Of Us re-releases, Naughty Dog has an entirely new game in the works, with Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet. Only vaguely described as an action adventure game, rumours point to it having an Elden Ring inspired open world.

There seemed to be signs this would be one of Sony’s big 2026 releases, but reliable insiders have said this won’t be the case. Between Saros and Wolverine, Sony can arguably afford to hold Intergalactic back for a 2027 release.

Development doesn’t sound like it’s been running smoothly, though, since Bloomberg reported that the project has missed multiple deadlines, prompting a crunch period just to get an internal demo ready.

Naughty Dog is supposed to have at least one other game in the pipeline, with a rumour alleging it’s from the director of Uncharted: The Lost Legacy, but the studio is unlikely to share any details on that until after Intergalactic comes out.

Polyphony Digital

Polyphony is no doubt working on a Gran Turismo 8, with studio CEO and series producer Kazunori Yamauchi teasing it in 2023, but there remains no sign of it.

Sony may not feel any pressure to push a sequel out until Gran Turismo 7’s microtransactions stop being profitable, but the company has given no indication of how much money it’s still making from those.

If anything, Gran Turismo 7, which launched in 2022, is perhaps one of Sony’s few live service successes, since it’s clearly still popular enough to be getting new cars and events as recently as last month.

San Diego Studio

There’s not much to say about San Diego Studio, since all it really does nowadays is make annual MLB The Show games for baseball fans.

It wasn’t mentioned in the last State of Play, but this year’s entry – MLB The Show 26 – is launching on March 17 and is available for pre-order. It’s also a rare example of a PlayStation franchise going multiplatform, with it following last year’s example and launching for Xbox and Nintendo Switch… but not Switch 2.

Santa Monica Studio

After years of silence, Santa Monica Studio dropped quite the bomb during the last State of Play. Not only did it shadow drop a God Of War prequel, in the form of Sons Of Sparta, but it’s remaking all three of the original Greek era games – or at least someone is, it’s not really clear.

While Sons Of Sparta was developed by Mega Cat Studios (Santa Monica just wrote the script), it’s not clear how involved they are with the remake trilogy. Whether they’re doing it all themselves, or co-operating with another studio, it seems to suggest that an entirely new God Of War sequel won’t now see the light of day until the 2030s.

However, rumours point to another Santa Monica game that’s being helmed by God Of War director Cory Barlog; one that could be announced later this year and launch in 2027. Apparently, it’s not a new IP but it ‘might feel like one,’ which doesn’t really narrow down what it could be… unless it’s resurrecting 2001 racing game Kinetica, the first thing Santa Monica ever released.

Sucker Punch Productions

Sucker Punch only launched Ghost Of Yōtei last year and development hasn’t actually ended yet, since it’s currently planning to add co-op multiplayer to the game on March 10.

Since the studio focuses on only one game at a time, its next project likely won’t launch for another five years and the PlayStation 6 should be out by then. Sucker Punch also doesn’t seem to have committed itself to a third samurai game yet, but Sony higher-ups may push for it since both Ghost Of Yōtei and Ghost Of Tsushima were financial hits.

If not, it’s more likely Sucker Punch will pursue an original IP rather than revisit either of its Sly Cooper or inFamous franchises, having shown no interest in reviving them since the PlayStation 3 era.

Team Asobi

Considering Team Asobi is the only real remnant of Japan Studio left, it’d be nice to see it crank out a wholly original and inventive game akin to Japan Studio’s past work.

The success of Astro Bot, though, means it’s more likely Sony is pushing for more games starring the robotic mascot, although that’s not necessarily a bad thing as Sony is incentivised to pursue the family market again.

Astro Bot as a character lends himself well to myriad genres geared towards families, but hopefully Sony doesn’t overuse him and make a bunch of homogenous Astro Bot spin-offs. But at the moment, Team Asobi has given no real hints on what it’s working on.

teamLFG

teamLFG was only formed last year, having been spun out of Bungie and consisting of developers who’ve worked on successful ongoing games like League Of Legends and Fortnite.

It’s apparent that Sony wants this studio to pump out a new live service hit, with its first project believed to have started under Bungie before being moved over to them. It’s explicitly described as a multiplayer game inspired by ‘fighting games, platformers, MOBAs, life sims, and frog type games.’ And no, we still don’t know what frog type games are.

Perhaps Sony has recognised that it’s better to have dedicated studios for live service games, rather than forcing ones that mostly did single-player games to pivot, but it’s still far too early to tell if teamLFG will find any success with its work. Especially since there’s been no word from the studio since its formation.

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Pope Leo XIV has turned down Donald Trump’s invitation to join his so-called “Board of Peace”, a senior Vatican official said.

Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican’s secretary of state, told reporters on Tuesday that the Pope had a number of concerns about the initiative and that he “will not participate” as a result.

“For us, there are… some critical issues that should be resolved,” he said. “One concern is that at the international level it should above all be the UN that manages these crisis situations. This is one of the points on which we have insisted.”

Mr Trump has invited a number of world leaders to join the board, originally conceived as a body to supervise the ceasefire in Gaza and coordinate the Strip’s reconstruction following the conflict between Hamas and Israel.

Its scope has since been expanded, with Mr Trump saying it would be well-placed to address a range of global disputes. Some see it as an effort by the US president to establish and alternative multilateral forum to the United Nations, which he has repeatedly criticised as not being fit for purpose.

It was Cardinal Parolin who earlier confirmed that the Pope had been invited to join the board by Mr Trump. He said in January that “the Pope has received the invitation, and we are considering what to do; we are looking into it.”

He said at the time that the invitation to join the board “requires some time to answer” and that the request “will not be to participate financially” because “we are not in a position to do so”.

Mr Trump claims the Board of Peace has already committed more than $5bn (£3.67bn) to help rebuild Gaza.

But there have been concerns over the board’s line-up, with European governments expressing surprise that Mr Trump had invited Russia’s Vladimir Putin, who has waged war on Ukraine since February 2022.

Arab states have also expressed anger at the inclusion of Benjamin Netanyahu, citing the Gaza war that has resulted in the deaths of 72,000 Palestinians.

And there have been concerns about the prominent role of former UK prime minister Tony Blair – one of the first names announced by Mr Trump in connection to the initiative. Mr Blair is expected to sit on the board’s founding executive despite longstanding criticism over Britain’s involvement in the Iraq war.

Despite the controversy, dozens of countries – including Armenia, Azerbaijan, Egypt, Hungary, and the United Arab Emirates – have committed to joining the board.

Roadworks are due to take place on Radcliffe Road, Darcy Lever from today, Tuesday (February 17) until Thursday (February 19) this week.

The roadworks will be in place as United Utilities undertake essential repair works at the junction of Radcliffe Road and Long Lane, Darcy Lever.

The works involve excavating both the footpath and sections of the road in order to repair a water main leak.

The location of the roadworks within Darcy Lever (Image: Google Maps)

Cllr David Meehan said: “I reported an issue here in early February and now it has been assessed by United Utilities.

“Please allow extra time for your journeys and take care when travelling through the area.

“United Utilities are going to do their best to minimise disruptions.

“Thank you for your patience while these necessary repairs are completed.

A set of temporary traffic lights will be in place to make sure traffic can continue to flow smoothly despite the works, but it is expected that there will be no diversions and bus routes will remain as normal.

The junction between Long Lane and Radcliffe Road where the roadworks are taking place (Image: Google Maps)

Both sections of the road will need to be excavated as well as the footpath.

The issue came to the attention of United Utilities after Cllr Meehan reported the leak to the council.

The council looked into the issue and decided it would be within the jurisdiction of United Utilities.

The works are considered to be ‘essential’ by United Utilities.

Cllr Meehan said: “It wasn’t gushing or anything, it was just a sort of wet road.”

The other end of Radcliffe Road was the site of roadworks in January, where emergency works had to be undertaken due to a collapsed culvert.

The work order has been issued for the dates of February 17 to February 19.

This, alongside works on Church Street, left residents concerned that two of the entrance roads into the small town were blocked.

These works ended up being completed ahead of schedule, however.

The school’s work is getting harder, nestled as it is in an area where politics has long failed its residents. Westminster slogans have long been left unmet. In east Durham’s former pit villages, things never got better, they’ve never taken back control and Horden, along with neighbouring Blackhall and Easington, was never levelled up. A once proud, close-knit community has been left to the vagaries of absentee landlords, rising deprivation and residents who often don’t want to be here.

Residents say they could not be happier after their street was blocked off to traffic.

Walker Avenue in Great Lever was blocked off towards the end of last month at its junctions with Cotefield Avenue and Lynsted Avenue.

The council initially said at the end of 2024 that it would block off the road following complaints that it was a hotspot for “dangerous driving”.

On January 23, an “experimental” Prohibition of Driving Order was put in place on the street, with very large concrete blocks being placed in the middle of the road to prevent vehicles from going through.

It is set to be in place for “a period not exceeding 18 months”, with the closing date for objections to the scheme being July 23 this year.

Resident Stephen Leyland said: “I welcome them, they are definitely slowing traffic up immensely. The area is not as busy.

Stephen Leyland (Image: Newsquest)

“In the summertime, some of these young racers used to come down at a hell of a speed.

“It is a good idea, I would like them to stay permanently. It is worth the very minor inconvenience of having to drive around.”

Neighbour Raja Khan said: “I think it is great. It has definitely calmed the street down with traffic, because the young drivers were just speeding up and down.

“In that sense, I have no issue with it at all. They probably need to make it more attractive but that is minor.”

Fellow resident Roy Bentley said he would like the council to put another concrete block in the middle of the other two, but that otherwise it is “brilliant” and “fantastic”.

He added: “The traffic used to fly down the road all the time, it was like a racetrack.

“It is the best thing they ever did.”

Sally Price (Image: Newsquest)

Sally Price added: “I think it is a very good idea, cars used to speed up here.

“They used to come up really, really fast, especially at night, it used to frighten me to death.

“That was why it happened originally, people said they wanted some deterrent.”

Muzamal Hussain has been particularly affected by poor driving on the street, with his garden wall having been knocked down by a driver a few months ago.

He said: “I think it is a brilliant idea, it has made the road a lot safer, and I think the majority of people are in favour of keeping the road closed.

“People were using it as a racetrack.”

Residents could not be happier about their road having been blocked off (Image: Newsquest)

Other residents echoed the sentiments that there was a lot of speeding on the road, with some saying that there need to be signs at each end of the Walker Avenue to say that that it is a no through road.

One resident was sceptical about the new installation, however. She said: “I think they’re absolutely ridiculous.

“You get a lot of people coming up to them and then having to reverse back.

“There are no signs saying no through road.”

Though she did say that drivers used to use the road at high speeds.

Another resident, who wished not to be named, added: “I am really happy with them, cars were zooming down before them.”

The man also claimed to be five years younger than he actually was.

A former teacher who lied about graduating from Cambridge University has been banned from teaching. A professional conduct panel meeting was held by the Teaching Regulation Agency to investigate allegations against Nicholas Martin.

A meeting on November 11, 2025, heard allegations that Mr Martin, 43, acted in an “unacceptable professional conduct” while head of sixth form at St Edwards School in Cheltenham. The panel also looked at “certain discrepancies” that appeared in his application for a deputy head post at the school.

The application, made on February 14, 2025, said that Mr Martin was born on December 17, 1987, when he was really born on November 17, 1982. It also claimed that Mr Martin achieved a masters from the University of Cambridge, and that he sat as a magistrate once a month.

Mr Martin qualified as a teacher in 2006 and was employed as a teacher at the Cheltenham school in the same year. He was promoted to head of sixth form in 2024 after applying for the role. He applied for the deputy head position, but was not successful.

After this, the school noted that they had a different birth date for Mr Martin on record, compared to his 2025 application. Mr Martin was questioned about the birth date, and he said that there the 1982 date was “incorrect” and he had asked the school to correct it for a “number of years”.

Further checks were made by the school against his 2024 application for the head of sixth form position. This showed a date of birth of November 17, 2012.

The report said: “Mr Martin’s responses to the date of birth issue caused greater scrutiny and checks to be made against the information he supplied in both the 2025 and 2024 applications.” The school then asked Mr Martin for a copy of his degree certificate for his masters from Cambridge.

The report said that Mr Martin provided a certificate that he “purported” to be a copy of a degree certificate. The school checked with the University of Cambridge, which confirmed he had not attended the university.

The school also checked with the HM Courts and Tribunal Services if Mr Martin sat as a magistrate, but the organisation confirmed it had “no record” of a Nicholas Martin. A disciplinary hearing was held by the school on March 31, 2025, and Mr Martin admitted that he “acted dishonestly”.

The report added: “He accepted he had provided a false date of birth, had fabricated a certificate to further his earlier false declaration about his qualifications and had not sat as a magistrate for a number of years.”

After the TRA’s investigation, it found that Mr Martin was in breach of teaching standards and that his actions “fell significantly short of the standards expected of the profession”. Mr Martin has been banned from teaching, but the decision could be reviewed from February 5, 2028.

A spokesperson for St Edward’s School said it is “aware” of the TRA’s decision. The spokesperson added: “The individual concerned is no longer employed by the school. Once concerns were identified, the school followed its established procedures and referred the matter to the appropriate authorities.

“We fully supported the process that followed. The welfare and education of our pupils is always our highest priority, and we expect the highest standards of professionalism and integrity from all staff.”

The Tesco Grape and Berry Medley, sold in 230g packages, is being pulled from shelves after salmonella was found during testing on specific use-by dates of 16 and 17 February 2026.

Customers who have bought the potentially affected product are being advised not to consume it.

The Food Standards Agency said there was presence of salmonella in the product.

A statement issued by the Food Standards Agency stated: “As a precaution. Tesco is recalling the specific date codes of Tesco Grape& Berry Medley 230G due to the detection of salmonella during testing, which may make the product unsafe to eat.”

Instead, the supermarket chain is urging people to return it to any Tesco shop for a full refund.

The company has also issued a public recall notice to ensure customers are fully informed of the reasons behind the product recall and the steps they should take if they have already bought the product.

In a public notice, Tesco added: “Symptoms caused by Salmonella usually include fever, diarrhoea and abdominal cramps.

“If you are experiencing these symptoms, you should stay away from work, school or nursery until you have stopped having symptoms for at least 48 hours to avoid passing it on to others.

“Action taken by the company Tesco is recalling the above product and has issued a recall notice to alert customers.”

The Food Standards Agency (FSA), which keeps the public up-to-date on food product recalls, has also issued public advice.

In some cases, the agency issues what it describes as a ‘Food Alert for Action’, which provides local authorities with details about specific consumer action to be taken.

A school bus driver has died after the vehicle, transporting 40 students home, was involved in a horror crash that left it on its side with pupils climbing out the roof

A school bus driver has died after the vehicle carrying 40 children flipped over.

The bus was transporting children from St Paul’s High School in Bessbrook, Northern Ireland when it was left on its side on Tuesday afternoon, February 17.

Quinn Coaches, the company of the bus, have given their condolences as they announced the death of the “deeply respected” driver.

A statement posted online said: “We are deeply saddened to confirm that one of our drivers was involved in a road traffic accident whilst transporting school children today. Despite immediate emergency response, our dear colleague sadly passed away. “Our first thoughts are with his family, friends, and fellow colleagues during this incredibly difficult time. He was a respected and experienced member of our team, and he will be greatly missed.”

Emergency services attended to the vehicle on the Tullyah Road shortly before 3:45pm. Pupils were seen by eyewitnesses climbing out of windows and the roof.

The school confirmed that no students were injured.

“We are relieved to confirm that no children were injured during the incident. The safety and wellbeing of our drivers and passengers is always our highest priority,” the Quinn Coaches spokesperson added. “We are fully cooperating with the relevant authorities as part of standard procedure. We kindly ask that the privacy of the driver’s family and the school community be respected at this time.”

Dáithí Murray, principal of St Paul’s High School in Bessbrook, said in a letter to families: “We appreciate that this will have caused a significant shock to pupils who experienced the incident.”

The headteacher added that pupils affected by the incident would be supported by members of the Education Authority’s Critical Incident Response Team and on site on Wednesday.

Mr Murray added: “The thoughts and prayers of the St Paul’s community are extended to everyone affected by this serious incident today.”

Newry & Armagh MLA Justin McNulty said all the children have walked away relatively unscathed and that the incident could have been much more serious. He added: “A school bus transporting children from St Paul’s High School to Whitecross crashed on the Tullyagh Road. Thankfully around 40 of them all walked away from the scene, and are home. A few of them had minor injuries but nothing serious.

“There are still concerns about the well-being of the driver, and my thoughts and prayers are with him and I’m hoping that he will be OK. This could have been very much more serious. When an incident involves a school bus crash, you hope the worst hasn’t happened. Thankfully, the children have all walked away relatively unscathed.”

“Because you didn’t want people to see or read what you said. Then, the reaction of Vinicius is telling me that something not right happened. We still don’t know what was said. Vinicus can tell us his side, and Prestianni, I’m sure, will not tell us what he actually said, because I saw at one point Kylian Mbappe confront him, and he said, ‘I didn’t say anything’.