103 students in London permanently excluded for carrying a weapon

More than 100 children were expelled from state schools in London last year for carrying a weapon or other prohibited item.

There were 537 children permanently excluded while thousands of suspensions were given out across the capital’s state schools including for reasons such as sexual misconduct, racism and drug use.

In total, 103 students in London were permanently excluded for carrying a weapon – including three primary school children – according to data from the Department For Education.

A further 1,178 state school students were suspended for having an offensive weapon or prohibited item and there were 41,589 suspensions in total across the capital’s state schools.

Persistent disruptive behaviour was the most common reason for exclusions across state schools in the capital in the 2020-21 academic year, according to data seen by the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Hounslow was the borough with the most exclusions (40 pupils including seven primary school children) while 39 students were expelled from state schools in Hillingdon.

There were nine children permanently excluded for carrying a weapon or prohibited item in Hillingdon while there were 10 pupils expelled for carrying a weapon in Brent – the most of any borough.

Other boroughs saw much lower rates of expulsions. In Westminster, only eight students were expelled while six students were expelled in Kensington and Chelsea.

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