THE father of a schoolgirl who was badly injured in the Manchester Arena attack in May has praised her resilience as she continues her return to life at school.

Freya Lewis was 14 when she attended the Ariana Grande concert with best friend Nell Jones on May 22, and required months of hospital treatment after the bombing atrocity.

Her dad, Nick, has been keeping up a blog with the help of Holmes Chapel Comprehensive School staff since the attack, updating the community on her recovery and rehabilitation.

As well as the updates, the family has also raised more than £20,000 to donate to the Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital’s paediatric critical care unit – where Freya was treated after the attack.

Nick wrote in his blog that Freya returned to start Year 10 in September, and has also resumed extra-curricular and social activities.

His latest post from November 18 said: “It is regularly commented on that she always has a smile on her face and a cheerful disposition; this was always the case before the 22 May, but the fact that she is still this way is quite incredible.

“Bearing in mind that she missed an entire half term of school, and is still missing lessons for hospital visits, the fact that her studies are back on track is a real achievement too.

“Before she returned to school, they had put a number of measures in place to provide Freya with extra support, both from an academic and safeguarding viewpoint.

“In reality, she hasn’t really needed any of these and has just got on with it; needless to say, we are so proud of her.”

Hospital visits continue for Freya and her family.

While in hospital before her initial release Freya was visited by Ariana Grande and has since met her hero Harry Styles.

Follow updates from the blog at hccs1978.wixsite.com/hccs/blog