A SPECIAL service to mark ten years since the tragic minibus crash which claimed the lives of 12 Hagley school children and their teacher, will take place tomorrow (Thursday).

The Archbishop of Birmingham, the Most Reverend Vincent Nichols, will conduct the private mass service in the hall of Hagley Roman Catholic High School.

Yesterday (Tuesday) was the tenth anniversary of the day when the school's minibus collided with a stationary motorway maintenance vehicle on the M40, near Warwick.

The children, who were all musicians aged 12 and 13, were travelling back from a night at the Royal Albert Hall in London.

The tragedy rocked the local community and made national headline news.

Since the accident, regulations for minibuses used for school trips have been tightened up across the UK and as a result Belt Up School Kids (BUSK) was launched.

BUSK is a complete training and educational package, concentrating on making sure children and teachers are prepared for the unexpected.

A number of charities have also been set up in the wake of the accident, including the Bramble's Trust, which offers specialist support to bereaved children and young people.

Liz and Steve Fitzgerald, of Bewdley, were inspired to set up the trust after they lost their 13-year-old daughter Claire in the accident. The couple's younger daughter Sarah needed extra support to come to terms with the death of her sister.

The on-site chapel at Hagley Roman Catholic High School was due to be open all day yesterday (Tuesday) welcoming in people wishing to pay their respects or have a moment for reflection.

And tomorrow (Thursday) the families will gather at the school to remember their children, who, if they had lived would be taking their first steps into adult life.

Headteacher Ted Hammond said: "The service tomorrow will be a purely private service just for the families of the children and staff member who died."

Although ten years have passed since the devastating accident, the Brake Lane school refuses to forget the painful waste of young life. Shortly after the tragedy, the school commissioned a professional craftsman to produce a number of beautiful stained glass windows in memory of the 13 who died.

Later, part of a new school building, a state-of-the-art music suite constructed by Thomas Vale, was dedicated to their memory.