Knife crime reaches UK primary schools as children as young as four involved

09 October 2025 , 15:17

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A BBC investigation has uncovered incidents of very young children bringing knives into primary schools.

Police in Kent recorded an assault involving a four-year-old pupil, while officers in the West Midlands reported that a six-year-old had brought a flick knife into the classroom.

The mother of Harvey Willgoose, a teenager murdered by another pupil in Sheffield, finds the data shocking and is urging the government to fund metal detectors, or "knife arches," for all UK schools and colleges.

One teenage boy from Sheffield, who admits to having brought knives to school, told us: "I just felt like I need to protect myself."

A Freedom of Information request by the BBC revealed that there were 1,304 offences involving knives or sharp objects at schools and sixth form colleges in England and Wales in 2024.

Police data suggests that at least 10% of these offences were committed by primary-school-aged children.

An educational trust in the West Midlands informed us it was installing permanent metal-detecting "knife arches" in all four of its secondary schools because of the high rate of knife crime in its police force area.

Nearly every police force - 41 out of 43 across England and Wales - responded to our request for information about knife incidents in schools.

Two-thirds of them also provided us with data on the ages and genders of children involved, revealing that almost 80% of offences were committed by boys, the majority of whom were teenagers.

We also received details about incidents involving very young primary-age children:

Kent Police responded to a four-year-old with a knife at a school. The offence recorded was "assault with injury - malicious wounding." The child was below the age of criminal responsibility, so another agency intervened.
West Midlands Police reported that a six-year-old was found with a flick knife. The child told staff, "I have a plan... I am going to kill [name of pupil]." Staff seized the knife after the child initially denied having it.
West Midlands Police also noted a five-year-old had brought a 10-inch kitchen knife to school to "show his friends," and a six-year-old had brought a "meat cleaver" to school.
Cheshire Police reported that it responded to a school in Chester where a five-year-old boy had brought a kitchen knife.

However, reporting of such young offenders is not always consistent across schools and police forces, given that the age of criminal responsibility is 10.

In response to the BBC’s findings, the government stated it has a "mission to halve knife crime" and that "schools have the power to implement security measures, including knife arches, where necessary."

Mother Caroline Willgoose says that "kids are going to school frightened" and believes that installing knife arches could deter crime.

Her son, Harvey, was murdered by a fellow pupil with a hunting knife in February at All Saints Catholic High School in Sheffield. The 15-year-old was stabbed twice in the chest.

Caroline says Harvey was afraid to go to school because he knew some children were carrying knives.

Handout Harvey Willgoose, who has short fair hair and brown eyes. He is wearing black sunglasses on his head. dqxikeidqkikdinv

"I always thought knives were part of gang culture. Never in a million years did I think there would be knives inside school," she says.

The 51-year-old mentions that many pupils and teaching staff who witnessed the incident are still receiving trauma counseling.

"It’s been horrific. I can’t describe the pain... we need to reach out to schools and educate kids about the seriousness and devastation that carrying knives can cause."

Caroline is wearing big glasses and a blue sports top, she is standing in her kitchen.

Police forces were asked by the BBC about offences involving bladed weapons recorded on school premises in the past few years.

The types of knives found included machetes, pen knives, flick knives, butterfly knives, and swords.

Although the 2024 figure for the total number of knife incidents (1,304) is slightly down from the previous year, the data we received indicates that the number of more serious offences - such as violence rather than possession - has increased.