Schoolboy Harvey Willgoose said 'as if anyone's going to stab me' in the hours before his death, jury hears

Sheffield Crown Court heard the comment was made during a conversation in which he revealed he would not be coming to school over fears someone had brought a knife in.

Around three hours later, 15-year-old Harvey was stabbed in the heart with a hunting knife, causing fatal injuries, in an incident carried out at a courtyard at All Saints School in Sheffield, during the lunchtime break on February 3, 2025.

Harvey collapsed around a minute after being stabbed, and died a short time later.

A teenage boy admits carrying out the stabbing and has pleaded guilty to his manslaughter, along with an offence of possessing a bladed article on a school premises. The boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, denies murder, however.

His trial began at Sheffield Crown Court on Tuesday (July 1, 2025).

Harvey ‘wasn’t going to be coming into school, because he heard there had been a knife’

Teacher Claire Staniforth detailed the exchange with Harvey during her live evidence to the jury of eight women and four men this morning (July 3, 2025).

She said Harvey had come to see her at around 9.15am on the day of the fatal incident, and explained he had come to school - following a period of poor attendance - in spite of fears about knives.

“He said he ‘wasn’t going to be coming into school, because he heard there had been a knife’,” said Ms Staniforth, adding that she believed that was in reference to an incident the previous week which resulted in the school being sent into lockdown.

Ms Staniforth sought to reassure Harvey, telling him she ‘wouldn’t be at work if I thought someone had a knife’.

Harvey later joked: ‘As if anyone’s going to stab me,’ and put his hands up, the jury heard.

Teacher told schoolboy she ‘was there’ after he suffered fatal stab wound

Just three hours later, Ms Staniforth rushed to be by Harvey’s side after hearing he had been stabbed.

Speaking through tears, she revealed how she told Harvey she ‘was there’ in his final moments.

Ms Staniforth appeared emotional as she told jurors that during her final conversation with Harvey, which took place over the phone just a few minutes before he suffered the fatal stab wound, he called her ‘bestie’ and jokingly described a conversation he had been having with a girl online.

Ms Staniforth told Harvey he could come and have lunch with her in her office, but he never arrived.

Defendant rubbed Harvey’s on chest in encounter on morning of stabbing

Jurors also heard how Harvey also expressed concerns about the defendant’s behaviour earlier that morning.

Ms Staniforth said Harvey claimed the defendant had ‘rubbed on his chest’ earlier that morning.

She suggested that the interaction had resulted in Harvey not wanting to go to a part of the school where he knew the defendant would be.

Responding to questions from prosecutor Richard Thyne KC about how Harvey appeared to be feeling about the encounter, Ms Staniforth said: “A bit cross, a bit confused maybe, as to why he’s done this.”

Harvey and the defendant later became embroiled in a social media spat.

A message alleged to have been sent by the defendant on the morning of the fatal incident, February 3, 2025, reads: “If u wan beef we can hav it.”

Jurors also heard how the defendant also visited Ms Staniforth’s office on the morning prior to the fatal incident, during which she relayed what Harvey had told him about their interaction.

“I said: ‘Why have you done this on Harvey’s chest?’ He [the defendant] didn’t say anything, he just shrugged. I knew I wasn’t going to get an answer. So by this time it was a few minutes before dinner,” Ms Staniforth said, adding that she told him to return to class.

The defendant stabbed Harvey a few minutes later, shortly after the school lunch break began, the jury has previously heard.

Mr Thyne asked Ms Staniforth if it is correct that she heard Harvey had been stabbed as she went to get some food in the dining hall a short time later.

Speaking through tears, Ms Staniforth replied: “Yes.”

Defendant’s alleged involvement in lockdown incident five days before stabbing

Ms Staniforth also described the circumstances around the lockdown incident, which took place five days earlier.

Ms Staniforth told jurors how the defendant admitted telling Boy A ‘I will kill you,’ after forming the opinion Boy A was concealing a knife in his trouser pockets.

Ms Staniforth described how when the altercation resulting in the school lockdown broke out between Boy A and Boy B, the defendant was in her office.

She said she had taken the defendant into her office after leading him away from an incident in which he was standing in a circle with a group of boys who had previously been involved in some sort of encounter with Boy A.

“I felt something was being discussed, and it didn’t feel right,” Ms Staniforth said, adding that she decided to remove the defendant from the situation because he seemed ‘calmer’ than the others present, and she ‘knew he would come’ with her.

Describing what the defendant subsequently told her about the events of that day, Ms Staniforth told the jury: “He said something had happened in the library earlier with Boy A.”

He said Boy A had made abusive comments, she said. adding: “Boy A had his hands in his pockets and [the defendant] said: ‘what have you got in there, do you want me to take it off you and I will kill you’.

Ms Staniforth said it was as the defendant was relaying the incident that they both heard a ‘commotion’ taking place outside.

The defendant told her he believed the commotion was likely to be a consequence of Boy B ‘trying to get’ Boy A, and he ‘quickly’ left in the direction of where it was taking place.

“How quickly did he get out of the office,” asked Mr Thyne.

She replied: “Quickly, because I didn’t have time to get round from where I was sat. I got up to try and stop him from going, and he was already gone.”

The defendant was subsequently restrained and removed from the incident by staff, the court has heard.

A subsequent search of the defendant’s bag revealed he was not in possession of weapons, the court heard.

Jurors have previously been told that the defendant claims to have been racially abused by Boy A in an incident on January 16, 2025.

Defendant incorrectly claimed he had ‘blinded’ someone at his previous school, jury hear

Ms Staniforth also revealed that during an earlier interaction with the defendant he told her about an incident at a previous school in which he had beaten someone up and ‘blinded’ them.

Mr Thyne interjected at this point to tell the jury they are set to hear evidence from school records which prove the defendant’s claim he blinded someone is entirely incorrect.

Ms Staniforth also appeared to tear up when she described an incident towards the end of December 2024, in which the defendant’s mother visited the school after discovering an axe in his gym bag.

She said she and another teacher met with the defendant’s mother, and described the weapon found in the defendant’s possession as being an ‘axe with a rope around the handle’.

Police were subsequently made aware of the weapon discovery, jurors have been told.

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Teacher had ‘good laugh’ with Harvey

Describing her relationship with Harvey, Ms Staniforth said: “Mine and Harvey’s relationship was funny, we had a good laugh together about things. And when he did attend school, he would come to see me and make sure I was okay. I would make sure he was okay.”

“He made me laugh, we made each other laugh. He was a bit cheeky sometimes, but he would never overstep the boundaries with me.”

The jury is set to hear more live evidence this afternoon.

The trial, which is expected to last four weeks, continues.