Pupil brings knife into secondary school

A secondary school has confirmed that a pupil brought a knife on to its grounds.

Staff at Wath Academy in Wath-upon-Dearne, near Rotherham, were told the child was in possession of a knife before the start of lessons on Tuesday.

The knife was seized by officers, South Yorkshire Police said, with a teenage girl referred to a youth offending team after voluntarily attending a police interview.

Maltby Learning Trust, which runs the school, confirmed nobody was hurt or threatened and said the pupil would be expelled.

"Possession of any prohibited item on school grounds results in permanent exclusion," a trust spokesperson said.

"The academy also has a range of safety measures in place, including a well-practiced lockdown procedure which was not required in this instance."

The force said it was working with the school to offer safeguarding advice to staff and pupils, and officers had seized a knife when they attended.

An email sent to parents and carers of pupils by the school on Wednesday asked them to avoid spreading unverified information online.

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