Pupil brought knife into school, academy confirms

Chloe Aslett
BBC News, Yorkshire
BBC A photo of a sandstone building with "Wath Academy" on the side. There is a car park to the right of the building and what looks like a bike shelter to the foreground.BBC
Wath Academy is a comprehensive school on Sandygate.

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.

They took "immediate action" to remove the weapon and the Maltby Learning Trust, who confirmed the pupil would be expelled, said nobody was hurt or threatened.

"Possession of any prohibited item on school grounds results in permanent exclusion," they added.

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

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

The incident has been reported to South Yorkshire Police, the spokesperson confirmed.

The BBC has contacted the force for further information.

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