Teenage lady is stabbed at college as terrified pupils cower below desks and armed police storm classroom earlier than boy, 16, is arrested

A 16-year-old boy has been arrested after a teenage girl was stabbed at a school which was put into lockdown today with terrified pupils told to hide under their desks.

Armed police were called to Thorpe St Andrew school near Norwich at around 10.24am as pupils were told to hide and turn off their phones while teachers barricaded classroom doors.

Dozens of parents arrived at the ground after hearing the reports on social media, pleading with police for more information.

 ‘Just f*****g let the kids out,’ one parent shouted at officers.

Another said: ‘If my son is under a table and someone’s coming with a knife, I want him to be aware they’re coming.’

One pupil who was able to make contact with their family sent a text reading ‘I am very scared’,  while another sent a message saying they ‘just want to go home’.

Police drones were also on the scene as officers searched for the suspect, who is thought to have fled after jumping over a fence, before an arrest was made.

It’s understood that the suspect was on the run for more than an hour, with the arrest being made at around 11.30am.

Officers arrested a 16-year-old boy on suspicion of causing grievous bodily harm with intent and have taken him to Wymondham Police Investigation Centre for questioning.

The teenage girl, understood to be a pupil at the school, has been taken to the hospital with ‘minor injuries’.

Other schools in Norfolk are also understood to be keeping children inside over lunchtime, while Thorpe St Andrew School remains in lockdown.

Darren Evans, a father whose daughter is in year eight, told the Eastern Daily Press: ‘The communication from the school has been shocking.

‘If it were not for Facebook and the news, I would have had no idea what was going on.

‘I last heard from my daughter an hour ago. There’s been a total lack of communication.’

Another parent added: ‘To hear nothing from the school, it’s terrifying. Your mind sort of starts wheeling, you’ve got kids in the school, you don’t know what they want.

‘To have no information whatsoever about what was going on, with all this going on in the world right now, your mind instantly goes to the worst.

‘You automatically boot the worst, and think something horrendous has happened. I mean, it has. You automatically think it’s something a hell of a lot worse.’

One teacher at the school said they had been told to stay in the classroom with pupils, telling ITV News Anglia: ‘One of the things you practice, but never think you’ll do’.

One Parent, Adam Howlett, told the news outlet that he had still not heard from his daughter, despite hearing from his son who is still locked in his classroom.

He said: ‘When it comes to your child even minor injuries are terrifying. You don’t expect to come to school and get injured. I’m just waiting to find out some news and put my mind at rest.’   

An alarm is still ringing out across the school, however, a member of the security staff at the school told parents waiting outside ‘don’t worry, everyone is now safe’, the BBC reports.

Police today said the stabbing was ‘not believed to be linked’ to reports of anti-semitic chants at an under-15 football match which took place at the school last week.

Last week, Jewish teenagers claimed they were told to ‘go back to the gas chambers’ and called ‘dirty Zionists’ by baying spectators at a football tournament at the school. 

They also heard repeated chants of ‘Jews’ and slurs made against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, while one mixed-race boy alleged he was called a ‘N***** Jew’ by the crowd during the quarter-final of an Under-15s national football tournament on March 5.

One boy alleged he was called a ‘monkey’ – a term that has been used by Islamic extremists as a slur against Jewish people.

Students from Jewish Free School (JFS) in London told the Daily Mail they were left feeling ‘threatened’, ‘hurt’ and ‘ashamed to be Jewish’ after hearing the offensive remarks, which they say began from the moment the team starting warming up on the pitch at Thorpe St Andrew School.

They allege staff ‘didn’t seem to care’ after the JFS pupils raised their concerns and instead allowed the abuse to continue.

It is understood the spectators comprised mainly Thorpe St Andrew students.

The school, which was rated Good in its 2025 Ofsted inspection, is an 11-to-18 mixed secondary school which also includes a sixth form. 

A statement from Norwich North MP, Alice MacDonald, reads: ‘Reports coming out from Thorpe St Andrew School are incredibly serious and deeply, deeply alarming.

‘Immediately, we need to give the police time to ensure that every child and adult at the school is safe.

‘My thoughts right now are with all of them, especially the victim who has been taken to hospital, and their families who will be extremely worried.

‘My office is trying to get the latest information to understand exactly what has happened. I will keep you updated as I learn anything.’ 

A Norfolk Police spokesperson said: ‘A boy has been arrested following an incident in Thorpe St Andrew.

‘Police were called to a school on Laundry Lane, Thorpe St Andrew at 10.24am this morning following reports that a teenage girl had been stabbed.

‘Emergency services attended the scene including fire and ambulance. The victim has been taken to hospital with minor injuries.

‘A 16-year-old boy has been arrested on suspicion of causing grievous bodily harm with intent. He has been taken to Wymondham Police Investigation Centre for questioning.

‘This incident is not believed to be linked to a hate crime reported at the same school last week.’

The Daily Mail has approached Broad Horizons Education Trust, of which the school is a part, for a comment.

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