School trust installs US-style knife arches to protect hundreds of students in UK first

A school trust is installing US-style knife arches across all of its facilities to protect hundreds of its students.

Dudley Academies Trust has become the first academy trust in the UK to equip all of its secondary schools with the metal detecting technology.

Approximately £50,000 has been invested in installing nine screening devices across four sites.

The Black Country trust claims the initiative represents a proportionate safeguarding measure in response to broader concerns about knife crime across the West Midlands.

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The measures are seen as precautionary, as the leading body notes that it has not experienced any knife-related incidents.

Hundreds of pupils now walk through the detectors each morning as part of their daily arrival routine, with the process designed to take just seconds per student.

At Beacon Hill Academy in Sedgley, over 1,100 students arrive daily and deposit mobile phones, keys and other belongings into trays before passing through the scanners.

Principal Sukhjot Dhami said: "We've never had an incident involving a knife"

He added: "But we want to absolutely reassure our learners and parents that they are coming into an incredibly safe environment."

The trust conducted what it described as its largest-ever consultation with parents before implementing the system, receiving overwhelming backing for the initiative.

Dhami noted that aerosols and fizzy drinks have been the most frequently confiscated items rather than weapons.

Pooja Khanda, whose son Ronan was murdered in Wolverhampton in 2022 with a ninja sword purchased online, visited Beacon Hill Academy to address pupils.

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The campaigner, who helped secure changes through Ronan's Law banning weapons such as ninja swords, said it was premature to assess the arches' impact but welcomed the action.

She said: "I always welcome every measure that's being taken, but there's a long way to go."

Ms Khanda added that education and awareness remain as crucial as legislation.

A student at Link Academy, whose uncle was fatally stabbed in a Stourbridge nightclub in 2017, told the BBC: "It's always good to prevent it before it even happens. It's the effect it has on families - it's just terrible."

Knife crime offences in the West Midlands have ranked among the highest in England in recent years, though police report that overall figures have started to decline.

Ministry of Justice data indicate that slightly more than 1,100 children were convicted of knife possession in England and Wales during the year ending September 2025, representing a modest reduction from the previous period.

NHS statistics reveal that between 400 and 500 children are admitted to English hospitals annually following assaults involving sharp objects.

The Department for Education maintains that screening decisions should be made locally, noting that such measures may not suit every school environment.

Some education figures argue that the arches offer reassurance but fail to tackle the root causes of knife crime.

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