The Offensive Weapons Act 1996 covers the possession of knives within school premises:
- (1) Any person who has an article to which section 139 of this Act applies with him on school premises shall be guilty of an offence.
- (2) Any person who has an offensive weapon within the meaning of section 1 of the M1 Prevention of Crime Act 1953 with him on school premises shall be guilty of an offence.
- (3) It shall be a defence for a person charged with an offence under subsection (1) or (2) above to prove that he had good reason or lawful authority for having the article or weapon with him on the premises in question.
- (4) (Subsection 4 gives the same specific exceptions as subsection 139(5) with the addition of "for educational purposes". This would appear to imply that all legislation on knives in public applies similarly to school premises, and therefore a folding pocket knife under 3 inches (76mm) in length would be considered legal.)
The Offensive Weapons Act 1996 imposes an age restriction on the sale of knives:
- (1) Any person who sells to a person under the age of sixteen years an article to which this section applies shall be guilty of an offence
- (2) Subject to subsection (3) below, this section applies to—
- (a) any knife, knife blade or razor blade...
In Scotland, the Violent Crime Reduction Act 2006 makes it an offence to sell knives to someone under 18 years of age (including any blade, razor blade, any bladed or pointed article, or any item made or adapted for causing personal injury.)
Read more about this topic: Knife Legislation, United Kingdom
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