A 14-YEAR-OLD boy was arrested yesterday following an incident involving a knife in Haute Vallée School canteen at lunchtime.
States police said the teenager had to be restrained by members of staff until officers arrived at the scene.
The JEP understands the 14-year-old is not a current student of Haute Vallée School.
In a statement released yesterday afternoon, the force said: “One student has a very minor injury to the hand. There are no other reported injuries at this time.”
In an email to parents, Haute Vallée headteacher Stuart Hughes praised staff for acting “swiftly and decisively” to restrain the teenager.
“Staff responded swiftly with exceptional professionalism, and students were calm, respectful, and supportive of one another throughout,” he wrote.
Mr Hughes confirmed that the school will be open as normal tomorrow, with wellbeing support in place for students and staff.
He added: “I wish to stress that this is an extremely rare incident in which we are working closely with the States of Jersey Police and Education Department colleagues to further understand the events that occurred and ensure that the safety and wellbeing of student and staff is paramount.”
It comes just weeks after new figures revealed that there were 13 student exclusions from schools in Jersey last year over the threat or use of offensive weapons.
The response to a freedom-of-information request showed that Haute Vallée has seen 12 exclusions as a result of the use or threat of use of an offensive weapon over the past five years.
The incident on Monday 9 February came on the same day that States police issued an appeal for witnesses to a failed knifepoint robbery.
The incident took place at 5.35pm on Saturday 7 February in St Brelade.
It is alleged that a man knocked on the door of a property on La Route de la Haule while holding a “small knife”.
The property owner opened the door and the man asked for their car keys. The owner immediately shut and locked their door.
The man did not access the home and no injuries were sustained. Officers arrived on scene at 5.46pm.
States police are now seeking to identify the man – who was said to be dressed in a black jacket, baggy grey jogging bottoms, and black boots or trainers. He was carrying a dark rucksack with white details, possibly made by the brand adidas.
Islanders are being asked to view CCTV footage of the suspect to see if it is someone they recognise.
States police said: “This appears to be an isolated incident, and we wish to reassure the public that we are doing everything we can to identify the suspect.”
Last year, Home Affairs Minister Mary Le Hegarat told the JEP that Jersey does not have a “widespread knife problem” and remains a “safe place to live” – despite figures showing that there had been 12 incidents of knife possession in school between 2020 and 2024.
It also emerged last year that children had been suspects in over a third of all knife-related crimes in 2024.
In October that year, new legislation – the Crime (Public Order) Law 2024 – was introduced to clamp down on the possession of knives in public.
