This is scary. I think the most frightening thing is this kid thought that was the correct way to deal with his problem.

The police need to make an example of this boy. I was disappointed to see a metal detector at a college recently (only because you didnt need them when I was at college), have things got THAT bad that we need to install them at primary schools?

i remember kids bringing knives into my school and that was over 10 years ago.

lock knives, butterfly knives and kitchen knives.

people used to buy them on school trips to france as well.

i dont think this is isolated.

Ric. What school did you go to?!?

Are you sure this was when you were in 1st/middle school?


I find it very hard to believe that knives were the norm at your school.

I went to school in Wandsworth & left about 4/5 yrs ago.
There was the odd idiot who brought a knife in but they were dealt with quick.
My little brother is there now & he says its worse & all they do now is slap them on the wrist & put them in a behaviourial unit!!
Stupid if you ask me,they just going to end up stabbing each other!!

WHAT THE HELL IS A BEHAVIOURAL UNIT??????

My god.

Jesus! Kids should feel safe at school, this is ridiculous. What sort of family did this kid come from, I hope they were outraged and gave him a reality check that it was stupid. Kids used to get into fights and spats and got over it, but attempting to kill someone or seriously injure them is completely outrageous. What are wrong with kids these days!!!!

No-one attempted to kill or seriously injure anyone here. The boy brought a knife to school presumably to get a reaction. It seems that he succeeded, though perhaps not in the way that he anticipated.

Nonetheless it's a serious matter that should be dealt with as such. It appears that it is.

I am disgusted with this report in the guardian. I think before they print reports they need to get the facts straight! And wonder why a 11 yr old boy felt the need to take a knife to school. It was even printed in the report that two boys had a problem with him earlier that week.Maybe this should have been looked into further and it would never have got to this stage!!The boy in question will have enough to deal with at the moment, without someone telling there story.Im not saying the matter should not be delt with correctly, but stories like this with not the correct facts can only do more damage than good.

I know the boy well and am very shocked by this as he is not a nasty boy
And also he comes from a stable and nice family who are also shocked and upset by this

Were are the parents comments? Have they had a chance to comment? With storys like this i always wonder what the backgrond to the story is....This was not a child in a gang....This was a child on his own, self defence maybe....there is always a bigger picture to every story,which is left hidden.The child should never have got so far as taken a knife to school, but it does make you wonder what things can be brushed under the carpet, untill things get to late.

C, a behaviourial unit was set up at our school mainly for kids that were trouble makers. The school thought if they put them in one room they couldn't disrupt everyone else. Most kids were only there for an hour or so but I didn't think it made any difference. Kids used to be bad to go in there cos it was a doss & didn't do any work.

i also think that the reasons why this boy felt the need to take aknife to school need to be addressed. There are too many bullies at schools and if schools were doing their job properly in educating kids about bullying then just maybe this sort of behaviour would lessen. of course there is no excuse to take a knife anywhere let alone a school but lets tackle the underlying problems first....

Carly, thank you for clearing that up for me. I asked a number of people I work with if they had heard of a Behavioural Unit and apparently its the norm! What ever happened to doing lines? Detention? Suspension? Are these punishments now obsolite?

I hope the Guardian are suitably ashamed of themselves for printing such an over exaggerated article. I thought I was looking at the front page of the Sun and not my local paper whom I rely on for accurate and reliable reporting. If I did not know this child I would have believed after reading this report that he was some uncontrolled hooligan running around the playground flashing a knife. This was not the case at all. The boy in question mistakenly believed that by carrying a weapon he would be protected from the unwanted attentions of two bullies. The school did well to hold a special assembly with the children highlighting the dangers of carrying weapons and how carrying one will not protect you and will never be the right thing to do. This is the message we should all be giving our children. The boy made a silly mistake and has now been excluded and he and his family face a tough few years ahead as he has now been labelled and will carry this with him throughout his school life. I hope in future the Guardian researches their facts properly before printing comments from someone who is obviously been listening to gossip and is out to cause the family and the school as much damage as possible. (If you think about it, this could also be considered bullying) The school has the best SATS results in the area, is well run and the children are happy, show me a school anywhere that does not have at least a couple of bullies. My children have been at this school for a long time, know the child in question and have had no problems with either. I hope people are not quick to judge the school or the child as they both do not deserve to be portrayed in the way they have been.

Z wrote:
I hope the Guardian are suitably ashamed of themselves for printing such an over exaggerated article. I thought I was looking at the front page of the Sun and not my local paper whom I rely on for accurate and reliable reporting. If I did not know this child I would have believed after reading this report that he was some uncontrolled hooligan running around the playground flashing a knife. This was not the case at all. The boy in question mistakenly believed that by carrying a weapon he would be protected from the unwanted attentions of two bullies. The school did well to hold a special assembly with the children highlighting the dangers of carrying weapons and how carrying one will not protect you and will never be the right thing to do. This is the message we should all be giving our children. The boy made a silly mistake and has now been excluded and he and his family face a tough few years ahead as he has now been labelled and will carry this with him throughout his school life. I hope in future the Guardian researches their facts properly before printing comments from someone who is obviously been listening to gossip and is out to cause the family and the school as much damage as possible. (If you think about it, this could also be considered bullying) The school has the best SATS results in the area, is well run and the children are happy, show me a school anywhere that does not have at least a couple of bullies. My children have been at this school for a long time, know the child in question and have had no problems with either. I hope people are not quick to judge the school or the child as they both do not deserve to be portrayed in the way they have been.

So the paper is going to intentionally print something which leaves it open to possible legal action, is it??

Don't be daft.

The kid was caught waving a knife around, intending to intimidate and frighten others. In effect, he lowered himself to the status of a thug. Why else do you think the police responded as they did?

As the boys mum I would like to say thank you to the people who have written supportive comments. I would just like to say I am also disgusted with my son for his behavior. The news paper has incorrectly reported some of the facts and neglected to mention a number of factors that have led up to this incident including the fact that my son was a victim of crime due to being physically assaulted recently and all they got was a slap on the wrist. Maybe this is why he felt the need to carry a knife.
Please don't think for one second i'm justifying my sons behaviour as I feel he should be punished for the actual crime and not what has been published. I would also like to say that Tweeddale have done their upmost and do not feel that they have covered it up at all.

Can I just ask Jock how he new the boy was waving a knife around? Was he acctually there
This makes Jock as bad as the other gossipers who obviously have nothing better to do with there time

Can I just ask Jock how he new the boy was waving a knife around? Was he acctually there
This makes Jock as bad as the other gossipers who obviously have nothing better to do with there time

boys parent wrote:
As the boys mum I would like to say thank you to the people who have written supportive comments. I would just like to say I am also disgusted with my son for his behavior. The news paper has incorrectly reported some of the facts and neglected to mention a number of factors that have led up to this incident including the fact that my son was a victim of crime due to being physically assaulted recently and all they got was a slap on the wrist. Maybe this is why he felt the need to carry a knife. Please don\'t think for one second i\'m justifying my sons behaviour as I feel he should be punished for the actual crime and not what has been published. I would also like to say that Tweeddale have done their upmost and do not feel that they have covered it up at all.

Good for you!! a decent parent who thinks their child needs to be punished for unacceptable behaviour. FAR too many parents will not accept their child is capable of doing wrong. i totally agree and as a mum myself i think the same as this boys mother. If only there were more parents like this. Good on you and I hope your son's education is not disrupted too much and that he has learnt a valuable lesson. Lets hope the bullies get what they deserve too.

i have known this boy since he was a baby and cannot believe he took a knife to school to use, he obviously felt very threatened and afraid by previous events. i know this does not excuse his actions but shows the level of bullying in this area. He is being severely punished for a mistake that will affect the rest of his life. His mum is not to blame and has always done her best for her children.Lets hope the bullies who are at the centre of all this are also punished.

So good to see a parent taking responsibility for a childs' bad behaviour. Well done you.

To Jock. The only person who has managed to sum the whole thing up!! read the facts people, and realize what this boy did, and even worse what he could have done!!!

To x
Im sorry was you there? how do you know the facts you are just reading what you think is right

yes i was actually!!

The paper sensationalised and misquoted the facts. Period.
The 'anonymous' source quoted was NOT there and does not even have any children at the school, i quote,"If it was my kids at the school I'd want to know."I'm assuming this person has nothing better to do than gossip idley to local newspapers.
The facts are these...
The boy DID take a knife into school to protect himself from some bullying.
He DIDN'T get the knife out of his bag and wave it around the playground.
He WAS Arrested and has been excluded.
All other nonsence about swarms of police etc are just complete fabrication. I should know, I was there.
There is no excusing the childs behaviour it was appalling. The boy himself and the parents know this, but I can't help but think that if the child had been offered the services he needs and the bullying situation had been delt with correctly(especially knowing that the child had been a victim of a very serious happy slapping incident recently)then this situation would not have occured.
The boy is being punished and no doubt,this mistake will follow him through his school years.Lets concentrate on teaching our youngsters about knife and gun crime and give good parents like his our support.

oo you was there was you?? so you would of also seen the boy waving the knife around. for several parents to notice it he wasnt being very inconspicuous about it was he??

Yes, I was definatly there. I am under no illusion that you were, or the gossiping parents that apparantly saw him waving a knife about. Pure fabrication. If this was true why did none of the parents try and stop him and it take the intervention of another child and a teacher to confrunt the boy.
I think if you actually spoke to the school and the police that would be confirmed. Its playground gossips like you that make life difficult for his poor family

The simple facts are this boy was being bullied.
The bullying was overlooked as it always is in schools.
The boy in question felt that it had got so far as to protect himself.
The overall picture is young children now feel the need to carry weapons of protection, and why.....?
It now is a normall thing for young peolpe to carry weapons of protection,which can cause an awfull lot of harm to the victem and loved ones around them. But why, why , why are so many peolpe carrying knives... The reason this story has caused such a uproar with people, is that the child felt the need to protect himself. He should never have took the knife to school and should be correctly punished, and this child will live with this forever.But it seems the bullying has been overlooked as always, untill the next major incident.

anonymous wrote:
The simple facts are this boy was being bullied. The bullying was overlooked as it always is in schools. The boy in question felt that it had got so far as to protect himself. The overall picture is young children now feel the need to carry weapons of protection, and why.....? It now is a normall thing for young peolpe to carry weapons of protection,which can cause an awfull lot of harm to the victem and loved ones around them. But why, why , why are so many peolpe carrying knives... The reason this story has caused such a uproar with people, is that the child felt the need to protect himself. He should never have took the knife to school and should be correctly punished, and this child will live with this forever.But it seems the bullying has been overlooked as always, untill the next major incident.

hi i am one of the boys involved and i wasnt bullying him we had been arguing for about 1 week or so it wasnt bullying because i dont bullie people so get your facts right !!!! and we are good freinds still to this date and you dont even no his family so how do you no what sort of upbringing his had ??? see you cant say now so keep your mouths shut until you no the real deal !!! i was in the flayground when he had the knife and he wasnt flashing itaround so why say something if you dont no wats true you all need to close your traps and wait until you no wat really went on xxxTxxx

hi im the mother of the other two boys i like to let you all know the three boys involved are normally friends and to date dispite what has happend are still friends my children was not bully him one of my sons and this boy both call each other name and say things about each others familys like a lot of children do at there age one day they are friends the next they are not all children involed are from good familys us as parents do our best to bring our children up just like you all do they are a lot of different storys going around which have only part of the truth in the school have been really good in this matter nothink has been hidden tina

i would like to make a comment in regards to the this incident.i have known the two boys involved in this since they were babies and every time i have seen them they have been polite and very well behaved.they come from a loving and hard working family who teach there children right from wrong.also i would like to add nobody should defend the fact that a child felt taking a knife to school was the way to resolve whatever he was feeling.

C, those things are petty these days. Detention was just like an extra hour at most & because there was so many of us, we just mucked about still.
No one bothered doing lines when we were given them.
Those sort of punishments were just a joke to us.
Our school even done community service where we had to pick up litter in an illuminous coat. That didnt work cos most of it was done in break times so we stood about with our mates having a fag & picking up the boxes & fag ends!!!

I KNOW THESE BOYS VERY WELL...THEY ARE VERY GOOOD KIDS THEY TALK N JOKE WITH ME AND ARE VERY HELPFUL AND SOCIABLE WHERE THEY LIVE...(K)

It strikes me that these boys' time, and that of their parents, would be better spent trying to grasp the rudiments of literacy.

Ok, the guardian are making up lies .I go to this school , knew this boy,not close just saw him time to time.He said he was not going to do any harm ,he throw it on the roof before the boys that were annoying him EVEN CAME.Do you seriously think that the head is gonna tell little year 1's that a boy brought in a knife.Do you know how scared they'd be?So its not hushed up,it does not involve anyone from the other years.Just cut him some slack OK.