Edinburgh schoolboy caught with knife after stab threat

Police were called to the school after the 14-year-old was searched by teachers and found with the weapon, understood to be a penknife. Three days earlier he was said to have told another boy near his home that he “would be getting stabbed on Monday”.

The boy was charged by police, given a warning and “internally excluded” by the school.

The punishment, while not a total exclusion, is one of the most serious actions a school can take, and means the boy is taught outside normal class.

However, the mother of the other boy involved said he had been unable to return to school since and said she is now considering having him tutored at home.

The mum, who did not want to be named, said: “My son was threatened through a window with a knife on the Friday and told he would be getting stabbed at school on Monday.

“I called the police and they advised me to keep him off on the Monday morning and call the school to explain the situation.

“I thought the boy might have just said it in the heat of the moment but I was contacted by the school on the Monday to say they’d searched him and found him in possession of a knife.”

She added: “He should have been sitting his prelims. He was such a bright child before all of this happened, it breaks my heart.

“We have tried a couple of times to get him to go back for a few periods a day but it hasn’t really worked because he’s just not in the right state of mind.”

Police and council officials are thought to have discussed the case before deciding how to proceed.

It is understood the pupil, who was charged with being in possession of an offensive weapon, had not been in any trouble at school prior to the incident.

A spokesman for Police Scotland confirmed they had responded.

He said: “The weapon was subsequently confiscated and the boy was charged with possession of an offensive weapon.

“Such incidents are rare, however we treat all reports of knife crime with the utmost seriousness and will always act on any information that is passed to us.”

The incident on Monday, November 16 last year, happened just two weeks after schoolboy Bailey Gwynne, 16, was stabbed at a school in Aberdeen. The Cults Academy pupil was taken to hospital with serious injuries but died a short time later.

A council spokesman said: “Safety of pupils and staff is paramount and as soon as a pupil was discovered with a penknife appropriate action was taken, including the involvement of Police Scotland.

“Staff at the school are working closely with the parents of both pupils involved.”

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