We spoke to five pupils at Barking Abbey School about their safety in the face of knife crime.
Thankfully all reported that they themselves have not become victims on their way to and from school.
But it is a topic they are more than cautious about.
One teen said: “On a day-to-day basis I think knife crime – luckily it’s something I haven’t come face-to-face with – but I’m always aware of it.
“Especially at night or if you’re alone, you don’t go certain places because you’ll get robbed or worse.”
Another pupil added: “Where I walk home from school, there’s a lot of alleyways. You don’t know what’s going to jump out at you – especially in the night.”
The majority of the group reported that it is the winter months that leave them fearing for their safety, with the sun setting earlier.
An issue young people face all year round can be found in the surrounding parks.
Mayesbrook Park especially was revealed to be infamous among the pupils as a problematic route home, with some alleged instances of knife-point robberies.
One teen said: “I walk to and from school. It hasn’t happened to me personally but a lot of people go through Mayesbrook (Park) after school and there’s some shady people around there. Sometimes people get robbed.”
A Key Stage 4 pupil added: “I personally walk home through the park and there have been situations where I’ve seen people get robbed. I almost got encountered myself by someone.
“I personally think that if someone threatens me with a knife, then they can take any of my personal belongings. As long as I’m still alive, then that’s the thing that matters.
“I’m not replaceable but my items are.”
Another pupil revealed they go out of their way to avoid the park completely, “especially when it’s darker”.
One student said that gang activity in the area saw police on an estate “constantly”, with “people getting stabbed”.
But the students praised their school for their visibility in the area and transparency about incidents nearby.
One boy said: “When those situations happen there are teachers in the parks sometimes just walking up and down and making sure students are getting home safe.
“My head of year was in there the last time it happened, they were just walking up and down a stretch of the park.
“It makes me feel safer because I know that if anything happens they’ll try and dissolve the situation or immediately call the police. They’ll do everything in their power to try and stop that from happening.”
The pupils said the school sends out emails to both parents and students when an incident has occurred in the hours before or after the school day.
READ MORE: ‘Knives are claiming the lives of young people in London – let’s talk about it’
According to the group, these matters are typically discussed in assemblies too.
A Key Stage 5 student said: “All the incidents, if the school hadn’t alerted us to situations I don’t think most people would be as cautious about their surroundings because we wouldn’t know.
“Because the teachers and staff tell us about it, we’re more cautious about our surroundings.”
