Wath Academy: Police issue statement as girl interviewed over Rotherham school knife incident

Wath Academy, in Rotherham, contacted South Yorkshire Police after a pupil bought a knife into the school, at the start of the school day on Tuesday.

The school has stressed that no one was threatened or hurt.

Now, police have confirmed that they have interviewed a girl in connection with the incident, and are working with the school.

South Yorkshire Police told The Star: “At 8.30am on Tuesday (25 February), we received reports of a person in possession of a knife at Wath Academy, in Wath-upon-Dearne, Rotherham.

“Officers attended and seized a knife. A teenage girl voluntarily attended a police interview and has been referred to the Youth Offenders Team.

“Rotherham North Neighbourhood Policing Team is working with the school to offer safeguarding advice to staff and pupils.

“Please be aware that we have materials available which will support and guide people through conversations with young people about knife crime. These can be accessed here: knivestakelives.co.uk.”

The incident comes just weeks after the issue of knives was brought into focus across South Yorkshire after a 15-year-old boy was fatally stabbed at All Saints School in Sheffield, in an incident which horrified the country.

Figures show that more than 100 cases of children taking knives into schools have been recorded since 2022 by South Yorkshire Police.

The figures show the number of young people under the age of 18 reported to the police for taking knives into schools in 2022, 2023 and 2024, across Barnsley, Doncaster, Rotherham, and Sheffield.

In information obtained by the local democracy reporting service under the Freedom of Information Act, SYP revealed that Sheffield saw the highest number of incidents, recording 37 between 2022 and 2024.

In the same period, Doncaster saw 30 incidents, Rotherham 22 and Barnsley 14.

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