Knives, hammers and machete seized from schools

Police were called to weapons incidents at schools 99 times in the region over the past year

More than 90 weapons including knives, knuckle dusters, hammers and a machete have been seized by police from schools in Greater Manchester in the last school year.

Figures released by the region's police force show officers were called to 99 incidents involving weapons at schools between September 2023 and July.

A Manchester teacher, who preferred to remain anonymous, said pupils often carry the blades for protection because they feel "vulnerable on the streets".

Patrick Roach, general secretary of the teachers' union NASUWT, said the "shocking statistics" underline the support schools need to "deal with a weapon-carrying culture".

Thirty-nine knives were seized in total, along with other weapons including a saw and a pole.

The figures were released after a Freedom of Information request by the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

'No intention'

The teacher said many pupils have "no intention" of harming people but carry knives through fear they themselves will be attacked.

“I had the opportunity to ask a pupil why they had brought a weapon to school – they told me they had no intention of using it, but other people on the streets had them," she said.

"This was otherwise a good kid."

The seizures highlighted the scale of the problem needing to be dealt with to keep children safe within and outside schools, Mr Roach said.

“No young person should feel the need to carry a weapon."

GMP schemes to tackle youth knife crime include Forever Amnesty, which set up 13 anonymous knife bins in the region.

The force has been invited to comment on the data.