At least 1,745 weapons found in UK primary and secondary schools in four years, FOI data reveals

Headteachers have said more money is needed for schools to remain safe amid a spate of stabbings, as figures obtained by the Guardian showed a dramatic rise in the number of weapons seized in schools.

At least 1,745 weapons were found by police on primary and secondary school premises – including knuckledusters, kitchen knives, butterfly knives and machetes – over a four-year period. The data, obtained through a freedom of information request, shows the number is rising annually.

This number is likely to be a huge underestimate as only 16 police forces provided a response. The Metropolitan, West Midlands and Greater Manchester forces refused on cost grounds.

Headteachers have urged the government to take action to ensure schools remain places of learning, rather than being forced to deal with the growing problem of youth violence.

A recent spate of stabbings has prompted criticism of the government’s handling of rising knife crime. Labour called the rising death toll from stabbings a national tragedy and attacked what it claimed was a lack of leadership by the prime minister, who promised “a cross-government response”. The home secretary, Sajid Javid, has met chief constables to discuss the problem.

Geoff Barton, a former secondary school headteacher who now leads the Association of School and College Leaders, said he was “horrified by what we are seeing beyond the school gates, and schools are a microcosm of society”.

He added: “Everyone is worried about the welfare of young people inside schools. We know schools are very safe places but what these figures show is that this is a call for a national mission to make sure any precautions are taken … All schools now need to take the best advice and have resourcing to do everything necessary to make sure knife crime doesn’t become a feature of schools.”

Barton said teachers felt under more pressure to fill the gaps as other parts of the state “shrink away”. He said the “only way to make sure schools remain safe places” was through more resources, accusing the government of being “in denial on such a serious issue”.

The freedom of information request found the number of weapons seized by the police on school premises had more than doubled in four years, from 275 in 2014 to 620 in 2017. Most of the discovered weapons were knives, although other items found included a baseball bat and a Taser.

Of the 16 forces that responded, the biggest rise was in South Yorkshire, where the number of weapons found surged from 140 to 319 in four years.

Det Supt Una Jennings, South Yorkshire police’s force lead for armed criminality, said: “We’re working incredibly hard in South Yorkshire to address concerns around armed crime and I wholly appreciate the concerns about young people choosing to arm themselves with a weapon.”



In Kent, where the figure rose from 13 in 2014 to 42 in 2017, Det Supt Lee Whitehead said: “One weapon taken into a school or college is one too many and we work closely with education providers to give information and advice to pupils about the risks of carrying offensive items.”

He added that the number of weapons seized was very low, considering the number of schools in Kent.

Barton said teachers were dealing with children exhibiting more difficult behaviour, resulting in a rise in exclusions. “Often if you don’t have resources to pre-empt the worst behaviour you get in schools … heads are left no option but to exclude.”

He added: “Teachers are feeling they are spending more time trying to stabilise behaviour among some young people. This goes back to a fragmented system, a lack of joined-up services and not enough money to do the job properly in complex society. The needs of young people are increasingly more complex.”

“We need to make sure we are not responding with panic but we need to think about what to do beyond the school gates but also in schools.”

On Thursday six people were arrested after a gang entered a sixth-form college in Lancashire armed with knives, injuring a student and threatening others before fleeing.

The men entered Runshaw College in Leyland at 4pm on Monday and attacked a 17-year-old boy, who suffered minor injuries. The men ran off when the police arrived.

A Department for Education spokesperson said: “We know that the majority of schools provide safe environments for pupils and teaching staff, and it’s important that they remain so.



“We have strengthened teachers’ powers so they can take action if they suspect a pupil has brought a prohibited item, including knives, into schools.”