Christina Edkins: How pupils were helped to deal with her murder

Christina died from a single stab wound to the chest

The murder of 16-year-old Christina Edkins, stabbed while on her way to school in the West Midlands, shocked her friends and acquaintances.

Christina was attacked on a bus on Birmingham's Hagley Road as she travelled to Leasowes High School in Halesowen in March.

Pupils at the schools she had attended found different ways of dealing with their grief, including fundraising and tributes on social media.

Pupils at two Catholic primary schools, one of which Christina attended, were encouraged to produce a magazine celebrating "youth and children's young experiences".

Lorraine Sergeant, the mentor at St Patrick's Catholic Primary School in Ladywood, said this helped the children "channel their memories [of Christina] in a positive way".

"Even though this was a very sad event, this was a way to show the children that it was not wrong to talk about someone who's gone," she added.

Memorial trophy

St Edmund's Catholic Primary School, which Christina attended, is a sister school to St Patrick's, with shared staff and activities.

Ms Sergeant said as there were so many children who had been upset by Christina's murder, producing the magazine was the best way to deal with the children's feelings.

The specially-made magazines were sold for £1 each

"It has helped them come to terms with it - during any counselling with any children who have suffered a bereavement we encourage them to think about the cycle of life."

She said that parents were still able to refer their child for extra sessions of counselling if they felt it would help.

The magazine the pupils produced was sold, raising £95.

At the request of Christina's family the money will be used for a trophy to be given each year to a child who has made an outstanding achievement in sport.

A trophy will be presented each July for 16 years - the number of years that Christina lived.