Knives and BB guns were among the offensive weapons seized on school campuses in Dundee over the past four years, figures have revealed.
A freedom of information (FOI) request we submitted to Dundee City Council has shown that 27 pupils were caught with an offensive weapon on primary and secondary school campuses in the city since the 2016-17 academic year.
Weapons found were a combination of knives, improvised weapons and BB guns.
A BB gun is a type of air gun designed to shoot metallic ball projectiles, and those under the age of 18 are not legally allowed to purchase them.
The figures were not broken down to show how many of each weapon were seized.
We take the safety of pupils and staff extremely seriously and we operate a strict policy in our schools over any type of weapon.”
Children and families service convener Councillor Stewart Hunter
Of the 33 primary schools in the City of Discovery, nine had a least one pupil found with an offensive weapon on campus since 2016.
This total was made up of Camperdown, Craigowl, Downfield, Eastern, Forthill, Mill of Mains, Sidlawview, St Clements and St Pius.
Camperdown Primary School was the only primary school to have had a weapon found on at least one pupil in more than one academic year.
The figures also show that only two of the city’s eight secondary schools – St Paul’s Academy and Craigie High School – have not recorded an offensive weapon being found on campus since 2016.
Braeview Academy has had an offensive weapon seized from at least one pupil in each of the last three academic years, while both St John’s High School and Harris Academy each had two consecutive years where weapons were found on students.
The 2018 -19 academic year had the highest number of schools recording instances, with five primary schools and secondaries schools having at least one pupil found with a weapon on their campus.
This number fell significantly the following academic year (2019-20), with just Braeview Academy reporting that at least one pupil have been caught with an offensive weapon.
This was also the lowest figure since 2016.
“Appropriate action is taken”
Responding to the figures, Dundee City Council children and families service convener Councillor Stewart Hunter outlined that schools have a “strict policy” towards weapons on campus to ensure safety.
He said: “We take the safety of pupils and staff extremely seriously and we operate a strict policy in our schools over any type of weapon.
“Incidents are recorded and appropriate action is taken.
“When any pupil is found with a knife, police will be called in to deal with the situation.”
