WIRRAL students were the first in the borough to have lessons on the truth behind the Hillsborough disaster.

South Wirral High School held "Teaching Hillsborough" today as part of a wider project to introduce tragedy onto secondary school curriculums following a motion passed by Wirral Council earlier this year.

Students learned about aspects of justice and the affect of Hillsborough on victims’ families as well as Liverpool FC fans. They also staged special drama and dance performances throughout the day.

Twelve people from Wirral died as a result of the crush as the FA Cup semi-final between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest got underway on April 15, 1989, at the Hillsborough Stadium in Sheffield.

Chairwoman of the Hillsborough Families Support Group (HFSG) Margaret Aspinall and scriptwriter Jimmy McGovern backed the event and called in at the school to meet with students.

During a question and answer session with pupils, Margaret spoke of the mixture of emotions felt among the group when the Hillsborough Independent Panel report was published last year.

She said: “It is hard to describe [how we felt] because we had been waiting for the truth for 24 years so there was a great sense of relief and a little bit of joy and sadness at the same time.

"We were delighted for the families and the fans as well as the survivors who had been accused of so many things.

“We were desperate to get the truth for those fans who could finally have their names cleared of any wrong-doing.”

Margaret added that “accountability” was essential and that lessons should be learned from the disaster.

South Wirral headteacher Catherine McCormack said the day had been a success and students had looked at the disaster from different angles.

She said: “This was a whole day looking at Hillsborough and human rights. We looked at how it was handled by the media, the search for the truth and justice as well as the common misconceptions about the tragedy.

“Students have also put together special performances and have had the chance to out their own questions to Margaret Aspinall.”