Eight-year-old boy caught with knife in Aberdeen school

An eight-year-old boy has been charged in connection with an alleged offence of threatening and abusive behaviour involving a knife at school.

An eight-year-old boy has been charged after being caught with a knife at an Aberdeen school

Police officers were alerted to the incident, which happened at a primary school in Aberdeen on Friday last week.

It is understood the knife, which is said to have been taken away from the child by a member of staff, was from the school’s canteen.

The boy has now been charged with threatening and abusive behaviour.

A report will be submitted to the Youth Justice Management Unit.

A fellow pupil understood to have been involved in the alleged incident was not hurt.

Council chiefs said the matter was dealt with “in strict accordance with our policies and procedures aimed at ensuring the safety and wellbeing of our children”.

And they informed parents of pupils of at the school, which cannot be named for legal reasons.

Local Sergeant Rob McLean said: “We work closely alongside our partners in education to ensure our schools and communities are safe places to learn.

“One such incident in our schools and communities is one too many and we have established a multi-agency response plan which includes a prompt assessment and follow-up to any incident, focusing on the support and welfare of all those involved.”

An Aberdeen City Council spokesman said: “We are aware of an incident on Friday and we would like to reassure parents and the public this was dealt with in strict accordance with our policies and procedures aimed at ensuring the safety and wellbeing of our children.

“As this is a police matter, it would not be appropriate to comment further.”

The incident comes after Police Scotland revealed figures showing 80 school pupils were found with knives on school premises between the start of April and the end of November last year.

Despite the 2015 killing of teenager Bailey Gwynne at Cults Academy in Aberdeen, children attending schools in the north-east of Scotland are among the most likely to be caught with knives.

The 16-year-old died in October 2015 after being attacked by another pupil.

The statistics showed 11 pupils attending schools in the north-east were caught with knives over the eight-month period – the joint highest figure alongside the Lothians and Scottish Borders.