Portsmouth Academy reassures parents after a ‘prohibited item’ was brought in by a pupil

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A Portsmouth school is reassuring parents it is keeping students safe after a ‘prohibited item’ was brought in by a pupil.

The ‘prohibited item’, which is thought to be a knife, was brought into school by a pupil at The Portsmouth Academy this morning (Tuesday, February 4) which was quickly found and removed.

This prompted the school’s executive principle Daniel Botting to issue a letter to parents to reassure them that it has ‘robust procedures’ to keep pupils and staff safe.

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The letter said: “We were made aware that a prohibited item may have been brought onto the school site, and thanks to the vigilance of staff and students, we addressed this immediately.

“Our team took appropriate action to ensure the safety and wellbeing of all students and staff, and inform the necessary authorities.

It added: “Following recent national headlines, we understand that you may be worried about safety in schools, but please be assured that this situation has been dealt with swiftly and effectively by the TPA team.”

Daniel Botting is the new Principal of The Portsmouth AcademyDaniel Botting is the new Principal of The Portsmouth Academy
Daniel Botting is the new Principal of The Portsmouth Academy | Samuel Poole

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In a statement to The News, the academy confirmed that the incident took place and said that ‘the health and safety of our students and staff is of the greatest importance to us’.

A spokesperson said: “As soon as we were made aware of this situation, our team took swift and appropriate action, following our robust procedures, to ensure the safety of all students and staff. We can confirm that everyone is safe and well, and learning has continued as normal throughout the school day.

“We take any matters such as this very seriously and will be reinforcing our messages about the importance of safety in school and highlighting our behaviour policy to ensure our school community continues to be safe. We encourage any parents or carers to contact the school if they have any questions or concerns.”

The news follows growing concerns about an increase in knife crime across the area as well as in and around the city. There have also been a number of high profile knife crimes and court cases in Hampshire over the past couple of years linked to knife crime.

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This includes the deaths in 2023 of innocent bystander Aimen Ahmed who was stabbed on steps of Portsmouth Guildhall after being attacked by a man he did not know, and Levi Kent who was stabbed in Gosport following an altercation related to a drug deal.

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