STAFF at a school say they are “extremely shocked” after a 16-year-old boy was stabbed in the school grounds yesterday morning (Jan 10).

The teenager, named locally as Tope, was stabbed in the right arm just inside the entrance to the grounds of St Columba's Catholic Boys' School, Halcot Avenue, Bexleyheath.

A pupil, who did not want to be named, said one attacker had gone inside the school to look for his victim but couldn’t find the teenager, who was late in that day.

He said: “As he was leaving, he saw him coming into the school, stabbed him in the arm and ran away.”

He claimed the bleeding boy then tried to get into classrooms to tell his friends what had happened before the school was finally alerted to the incident.

Bexley police were unable to confirm the boy’s version of events.

Police were called at around 9.30am and the victim was taken by ambulance to a south east London hospital for treatment.

After the stabbing, people in Halcot Avenue spoke of their surprise at the incident.

Mum-of-six Tracy James, 53, said: “There may have been problems in the past but I’ve lived here for five years and I’ve never seen anything like that. It’s always been fairly quiet.

“Some of them are a bit rowdy going up the road after school but I’ve personally not seen any trouble.”

The school said in a statement: “We take the welfare of our students very seriously so we are naturally extremely shocked that an incident like this, whereby one of our pupils was attacked by an unknown youth unconnected with the school, can happen.

"I am pleased to say that the victim was able to return home and is making a good recovery. We expect him to return to school shortly.

"We are helping the police with their investigation and have been working with them to remind our pupils of the importance of staying safe at all times.”

Detective Superintendent Darren Williams from Bexley police has denied the stabbing was gang-related and said it appeared to be an ongoing dispute between St Columba’s pupils and those from another school, believed to be in Greenwich.

He said it may have been a continuation of a previous incident after school on January 7 at the Broadway, Bexleyheath, when there was a “minor disturbance” between the rival pupils.

A 15-year-old boy has been arrested on suspicion of grevious bodily harm and is in custody at a south London police station. A 14-year-old boy has also been arrested in connection with the incident.

Anyone with information should call Detective Sergeant Andy Parrish from Bexleyheath CID on 020 8284 9131 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.