KEY POINTS:
LONDON - British children are taking weapons into school and some pupils are wearing stab-proof vests to protect themselves from becoming victims of violence, the first report on the impact of gangs on schools said.
The report said teachers at one urban comprehensive where pupils are said to
be "seriously involved in gangs" were "aware of young people wearing bullet-proof/stab-proof vests in school".
It cites one estimate that the number of pupils under 16 involved in gangs had doubled in the past five years.
The report, commissioned by the National Association of Schoolmasters Union of Women Teachers (NASUWT) and prepared by consultancy firm Perpetuity, is the first in-depth look at how youth gang culture is influencing schools.
It comes to the conclusion that children as young as 9 at primary school are becoming involved with gangs - used as "runners" and "couriers" to ferry messages by older members.
"Some of the case study schools felt the problem had increased over the last few years with gangs becoming more dangerous involving children at a younger age," the research said.
"Some schools have problems with pupils carrying weapons in school.
"This can include young people who carry weapons and/or those who hide weapons in and around school grounds."
The most common weapons teachers reported seeing were BB air pistols and batons.
In one incident a teacher saw a meat cleaver.
The report added: "Some schools have experienced the impact of gang culture and there are examples where former pupils have been killed as a result of involvement in gang-related activity.
"A secondary school in a gang-affected area may have 20 seriously gang-involved pupils, 40 less seriously involved and up to 100 marginally involved."
One pupil told researchers he was wearing body armour because of "needing to" - although attacks were more likely to take place on the way to and from school.
Children had deliberately failed tests and exams "to remain being considered 'cool' by peers".
The report suggests several measures to lessen the impact of gang involvement, such as sending children on prison visits to see the effect of loss of liberty, and staggering times to avoid clashes with other schools.
It cautions against automatic expulsion for pupils carrying weapons - warning that this could lead to them being more exposed to the influence of gangs on the streets.
"Excluding troublemakers from after-school activities could negatively impact on behaviour if they commit crime due to boredom," the report said.
Chris Keates, general secretary of the NASUWT, said: "Schools should feel free to exclude pupils if they are posing a threat to the education of other pupils.
"What we need to be sure of, though, is that if they are excluded on day one, on day two there is a permanent full-time place available for them - at some specialist unit - so they do not have to be on the streets."
The report says gang culture affects just a minority of urban-area schools.
- INDEPEDENT