Classroom knife crime fuelled by 'foolish bravado', teaching union claims
Knife crime in Scotland’s schools has fallen over the past decade but the decline has become static as teachers grapple to tackle the issue
Pupils bring weapons to school as “foolish bravado” to impress their classmates, Scotland’s largest teaching union has said.
New figures this week show police have recorded nearly 700 knife crimes in Scotland’s schools over the last five years.
A significant decline in knife violence over the past 20 years has slowed to a standstill as teachers grapple with the issue.
Over the past five years number of knives being seized in schools remained “stubbornly high”.
EIS Assistant General Secretary David Belsey said:”Clearly there is no justification for a pupil ever to bring a weapon into school.
“School discipline policies are in place, which highlight that bringing any type of weapon to school is completely unacceptable and carries serious consequences, including school exclusion, and police involvement where necessary.
“Many incidents of weapon-carrying are cases of foolish bravado, where pupils are seeking to impress or intimidate others, but they are nonetheless a significant threat to the health and safety of school staff and pupils.”
Officers seized 127 knives in 2025/26, down from the 149 taken the year before and similar to the 129 figure from 2023-24.
Some 139 knives or bladed weapons were seized in 2022/23, while 135 were recovered in 2021/22.
It means that between 2021 and 2026, 679 crimes involving knives or bladed articles were recorded.
A total of 155 of these incidents involved the weapon being used in other criminal activity, while the rest did not.
Jimmy Paul, Head of the Scottish Violence Reduction Unit (SVRU), said the country is “nowhere near” the levels of violence experienced in 2005.
Young people, Mr Paul added, have led the way in the reduction of violence over the past two decades.
“While the overwhelming majority of young people do not engage in violence, some do – with devastating consequences,” he said.
“It is vital to understand the complex reasons behind weapon carrying – why young people pick up a weapon in the first place and the risk factors involved.”
Mr Paul said research shows fear is a key reason school pupils carry a knife, thinking it will protect them.
He added: “We know, though, that carrying a knife means that individual is much more likely to become a victim themselves.”
Mr Paul said a robust public health response is needed and “teachers cannot address this alone, and we also cannot arrest our way out of this issue”.
“Parents and caregivers play a vital role, and we must empower them to have open and informed conversations about safety and the risks of violence,” the SVRU chief said.
“We also need to tackle the wider societal issues that can be risk factors, such as poverty, trauma, and a lack of opportunity.”
The figures, released by community safety minister Kirsten Oswald following a written parliamentary question by the Scottish Liberal Democrats, follow the high-profile deaths of two boys.
Last week, two teenagers were cleared of murdering 15-year-old Amen Teklay, who was stabbed in the heart with a sword in Glasgow last year.
And in June, three teens were found guilty of murdering 16-year-old Kayden Moy at Irvine Beach last year.
Mr Belsey said schools must be adequately staffed, resourced, and supported by robust policies and procedures.
He cited sufficient numbers of teachers, pupil support assistants (PSAs), specialist teachers, educational psychologists and behaviour support specialists as necessary.
Mr Belsey added: “However, successive education budgets have left many schools without the staffing levels and specialist support required to meet increasingly complex pupil needs and rising numbers of school-based incidents.
“As a result, schools often face significant challenges in maintaining safe and supportive learning environments.
“It is therefore imperative that the Scottish government and local authorities make substantial additional investment in education.”
The Scottish government said knife crime in Scottish schools was “rare”.
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